Remembering what was forgotten
by twilit angel
Summary: On the night of the Uchiha massacre, what if Sasuke lost his memory and grew up in our dimension? He grew up to be a somewhat normal kid and was obsessed with the series Naruto. One day, he and his friend end up in the Naruto world! How will they react?
1. Bright light

**A/N: **Hello there people and welcome to my newest story, Remembering what was forgotten! I know, I know. I should be working on Akatsuki's child but I felt that I was spending too much time on it. After all, I'm already up to chapter 23 on it so I have a lot of time on my hands until I need to start writing again. So anyways, this story was completely random. I thought of this last Sunday when I was reading in the Twilight section (yes, I am a Twilight fan. Deal with it) and I read a story on where Bella died giving birth and Edward wasn't around. Then I started thinking "Man, it would be hilarious if Sasuke had no idea about who his parents were." Then this was born. And to tell the truth, I _hate_ Sasuke and yet I'm writing about him. I think it's mainly because I can only write on either his or Itachi's POV comfortably. Don't ask why cause I don't know myself. On the note of Naruto, I read the latest chapter and I am _furious!!!_ I actually cried when I read it! How could Masashi Kishimoto do this!? He's killing most of my favorite characters! It's not fair!! I'll just let you guys read the story while I'm off crying. *sobs and sulks in the corner*

**Disclaimer: I absolutely don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be doing the stuff he's doing in the manga! *crys again***

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 1

_On a dark night with the moon at its fullest, a young boy ran rapidly down a street. The street he ran through was littered with bodies, their positions awkward and their blood pooling and sprayed on the ground. The boy ignored the bodies, tears blurring his vision. He had to get away. Away from _him_. The boy gave a cry and stopped as a teen appeared at the end of the street; The moonlight shining down on the pale beautiful face and red eyes staring at him coldly._

_The teen said something in a language the boy couldn't understand but the sound of the words sent a wave of fear down the boy's spine. The teen said something again; This time the boy understood him._

"_Foolish little brother. If you want to kill me, curse me…hate me. And live a long and unsightly life . Run way and cling to your pitiful life. And some day when you have the same eyes as me, come before me."_

_The boy suddenly felt faint. His knees wobbled and gave out before sinking into the darkness.

* * *

_

In the city of Sacramento, California in America, a young boy woke up with a start. Pale eyelids slid open to reveal dark onyx orbs and stared at the ceiling in a daze. The boy groaned as he sat up and ran a hand through his short, spikey raven locks.

"Last time I ever read before bed."

With a sigh, the boy turned his eyes to his digital clock which sat on his bedside table and cursed. He had twenty minutes to get to school! With great agility, he threw back the bed covers and revealed his long slender pale legs and swung them to the side so he could dash into his closet. He quickly changed into a dark blue shirt with a high collar that went up to his chin and into tan shorts that came to his knees then he dashed out of his room and into the kitchen. He entered the room to find a tall, blond woman with brown eyes behind the counter, smearing butter on a piece of toast. The woman looked up and smiled.

"Good morning, Sasuke. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Sorry Mom, can't. I'm running late," said Sasuke. He went straight to the refrigerator and took out a plum, juicy tomato. He closed the door with his foot, ran over to a chair where his backpack lay, grabbed it, then headed to the front door yelling over his shoulder "Bye Mom! See you later!"

"Have fun at school, sweetie!"

"Okay!"

Sasuke quickly put on his black high top converse and ran out the door. On the way to school he ate his tomato quickly and dodged passing people on their way to school as well. In less than ten minutes, he had arrived at his middle school. But when getting there, he was greeted with squealing girls.

"Oh my god! Sasuke is so hot!"

"He is so cool!"

"I wish he'd go on a date with me!"

Sasuke shook his head in disgust as he passed the group of giggling girls. He hated fangirls more than anything and it sucked that he had such good looks (A/N: can you say conceited?). Sometimes, he wondered where he got such good looks from. He couldn't remember what his real parents looked like or where he came from. All he could remember was his first name.

"Sasuke, wait up!"

Sasuke stopped and turned to see pink and red hair he knew so well. A girl with red hair and pink highlights ran over to him and hugged him, receiving glared from many of the girls. The red haired girl released him and smiled a bright smile.

"Did you watch last night's episode of Naruto?"

"Hn," he grunted. He knew his friend, Katy, knew he meant yes.

She did understand and proceeded to continue talking. "Can you believe that episode? I mean the way that pedophile of a snake just bit the Uchiha was enough to make me gag! He is so gay! First he's after Itachi and now after his brother! If that doesn't have 'pedophile' written all over it, I don' know what does."

Sasuke nodded his head as Katy rambled on about Orochimaru. As it turns out, the two were obsessed with the anime/manga, Naruto. At first, he didn't like the idea of ninjas but when he read the first chapter , he was hooked. The only thing he found strange about the series was one of the characters, Sasuke Uchiha. When he first read the chapter that introduced him, Sasuke was shocked to find that the Uchiha looked a lot like him. They looked alike from their pale complexions down to the same hairstyle. He told Katy about this and she laughed and joked "At least you don't have to try hard to cosplay him now."

"So what did you think of the episode, Sasuke-kun?" Katy asked. She had the tendency to add '-kun' to his name so she could act like her favorite character, Sakura Haruno. Sasuke's favorite was Itachi Uchiha but he didn't voice this out loud.

"I just didn't like Orochimaru and the stupid flashback," Sasuke said with a shrug. "The Uchiha seemed too emo at that part."

Katy giggled. "It seems weird that you and the Uchiha are exactly alike and yet you hate him."

Again, Sasuke shrugged. It was true he didn't like the Uchiha much. Actually, he seemed okay except for the fact that he gave up everything just to kill his brother, Itachi, just for revenge. He gave the whole 'avenger' idea a zero in his book. It wasn't like revenge was going to benefit him in the future.

Sasuke and Katy entered their seventh grade classroom and headed for their usual seats in the back. Although Sasuke was popular among the girls, he and Katy preferred to be alone. Sasuke wanted to be alone because most of the guys in their class mocked him for his hairstyle and the fact he imitated a character off of an anime while for Katy, she didn't want to be near his fan girls.

On cue, most of the girls started whispering how cute Sasuke looked that day while sending glares at Katy. The boys snickered how stupid Sasuke looked. The two of them ignored them and sat down at their usual seats. Sasuke set his bag down and leaned back into his chair coolly, folding his arms across his chest. He caught Katy giving him a strange look.

"What?"

"To this day, I still don't see why you hate the Uchiha when you act like him."

"Hn."

"You even say 'hn' like him," she giggled. "If I didn't know any better, you could be Sasuke Uchiha himself!"

"Get real. I wouldn't be caught dead being that guy," he said, scowling. The day he was the Uchiha was the day Naruto was actually real. (A/N: Oh the irony! XD)

Katy rolled her eyes and said no more. She pulled out a volume of the Shippuden series and buried herself into its pages. The two had read up to the second part of the series in the manga but in the anime, they were only up to the exams in the first part of the series. Frankly, the two were upset that they had to watch their least favorite part of the series.

Sasuke was staring into space, waiting for class to start when he heard Katy giggle. He turned to see her smiling face. He raised an eyebrow and asked "What are you giggling about?"

Katy giggled again and showed him a page in her book. He squinted and saw it was the part where Sakura and Naruto see the Uchiha after three years. This was one of the only parts Sasuke remotely liked.

"The Uchiha blew up his room," Katy giggled again.

Sasuke sighed and shook his ebony locks.

The bell finally rang and Katy put away her book to start paying attention.

* * *

A few hours passed in an instant for the two. The day was currently uneventful and was rather boring. The only thing that seemed interesting for Sasuke was the fact that they were learning karate in Gym. He was actually good at it too, considering it was their first day trying it out. He was paired up with one of the bigger kids who was good at most sports including karate. Sasuke was nervous at first but when trying it out, he was able to take down the kid. He was amazed by this. He didn't know much but he was able to take down someone more experienced than him!

Sasuke walked out of the boys locker room and headed for the school courtyard for lunch.

It was quite bit for a courtyard. Benches were scattered here and there and there were also multiple trees to sit under the shade. Some of the students were already under the trees to avoid the scorching hot sun.

Sasuke spotted Katy under one of the trees, a cup of beef ramen in her hands and a fork. As he walked closer, he could see she had her Ipod headphones in her ears. Katy always had her Ipod with her and once said dramatically "If I lost my Ipod, I would literally die!!!"

He sat down next to her and grabbed her Ipod. She didn't seem to care though; She was too focused on her food. Sasuke took one look at the screen and sighed. It was the third opening song for Naruto Shippuden. Even if they didn't watch that far yet, that didn't stop Katy from seeing the songs.

"You're so asian, Katy," Sasuke commented. Knowing that she couldn't hear him, he turned up the volume to max. Katy shouted and pulled off the earphones. She rubbed her ears while glaring at him.

"What the hell, Sasuke-teme!?"

"I was saying you're way too asian, idiot," he said, smirk gracing his lips. "You're Mexican and yet you act asian."

"I'm _half_ Mexican, idiot! The other half is Filipino, _pagkatigtig!_ So I can act all Asian I want to so nyahh!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"You know Filipinos are like Mexicans, right?"

"Whatever, dude." She took a long slurp of ramen and wiped her mouth, smiling. "Ramen is so good!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he lied down on his back. "You act like that dobe, Naruto."

"See! There it is again!" shouted Katy. "You act so much like Sasuke Uchiha and yet you hate him! What is up with that!"

"He had so many things," sighed Sasuke as his eyelids closed. "He had so many friends and benefits but that baka gave it all up to kill one person. And he didn't even go to find out the true reason his brother did all of that." He reopened his dark eyes and stared at the ocean blue sky. "The Uchiha even had a big family who loved him and even if they did die, he still had his brother who cared deeply for him and so many friends who cared about him."

"Sasuke-kun…" Katy softly said. Concern and sister-like affection laced his name. "You're still upset that you don't remember, do you?"

Sasuke said nothing and continued to stared at the endless sky. What Katy said was true, although he wouldn't admit it. He had no idea about his past and wanted to so badly. The only type of family he knew was of his mother, who found him unconscious in the streets and Katy. There were only two important people in his life while Sasuke Uchiha had more.

"If I were Sasuke Uchiha, I would never give up on my friends and protect them."

"Then Sasuke, you would be a way better Uchiha," She said. "You're already like a brother to me so why not?"

Sasuke chuckled and sat up. "Too bad you're like the annoying sister I never had."

"Yeah…" She had gone ahead to take out the first Naruto volume and looked back up glaring when she realized what he said. "Hey! That's not very-"

Katy was interrupted when she gave a shout and dropped the Naruto book. She was waving her hand wildly and yelling multiple curses.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"That frickin' book _shocked_ me!"

"What?" Sasuke picked up the book and raised an eyebrow when nothing happened. He opened it to the first page which spoke of the tale of the nine-tailed fox and the Fourth Hokage. "I don't know what you're compl-"

A bright light shone off of the book. Sasuke's eyes widened a bit as the light grew bigger and engulfed his hands.

"Sasuke-kun!" he heard Katy shout.

That was the last thing he remembered before being completely engulfed in the bright light.

* * *

**So there's the first chapter! Hope you guys like it. If you did, review cause like Akatsuki's child, I won't update unless you review! So if you want to find out what happens to Sasuke and Katy, make sure to do that because I have the second chapter ready and will update when someone reviews!**

**REVIEW!!!!!1  
**


	2. Where are we?

"Konichiiwa!" –speaking in japanese

"_Good bye!"_- speaking in English

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 2

"Sasuke….Sasuke….YO TEME, WAKE UP!!!!"

Sasuke sat straight up and opened his onyx eyes. He groggily blinked and glanced around, only to find Katy standing next to his bed, a frown gracing her lovely face. He blinked at her and wondered why she was in his room when he remembered the bright light. Now more alert, he realized that they weren't in his room.

Instead, Sasuke saw that they were in a room that had white walls and white tiled floors. There were also beds with metal frame head boards and white curtains in between. He also found that he sat in a bed. He thought the room looked strangely familiar but couldn't remember what it was.

"Finally! You're awake!"

"Katy, where are we?" he asked slowly, turning to her.

"I don't know," she said, sitting on the bed. "I just woke up to find ourselves here myself but it seems really familiar to me."

"Hn."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Katy also said that she found this place to be familiar, he thought. So where were they when they've never been there before?

After a moment of silence, Sasuke noticed that Katy was shivering.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

Katy shuddered and scooted closer to him.

"Hospitals give me the creeps."

Sasuke knew about her fear of hospitals well. After all, she had to witness someone close to her die in one. He slid his hand under hers and squeezed it in comfort. She smiled softly at him and squeezed back, her shivering had calmed down.

This little moment was interrupted when they suddenly heard shouting. The shouting grew louder and closer and the two were able to notice that it was in a different language.

"Are they yelling in Japanese?" Katy asked, quite confused.

Sasuke only shushed her.

The door opened and the two were surprised, shocked and confused. There stood an old man with hair balding grey hair and different colored spots from his skin color on his face. But what got the two the most was that he wore red and white robes with a matching triangular hat with the kanji for 'Fire' in the center. At the doorway stood two people, both wearing white porcelain masks with markings that resembled animals and dressed in a sleeveless top, dark pants, and opened toed shoes. The old man looked at Sasuke in surprise and said something they couldn't quite understand.

Katy only gasped at the sight of these people, especially the old man. "Either I'm dreaming or the Third Hokage is standing right in front of us."

"Your dreams usually involve you kissing and hugging Itachi, to death so this isn't one of you dreams," Sasuke retorted. He knew that she had a fangirl crush on the older Uchiha.

Katy glared at him and was about to say something when the Third Hokage said something again, only this time more urgently. The two still couldn't understand a word he was saying.

"Do you have any idea what he's saying?" Katy asked.

"Not really."

The Third sighed and rubbed his temples. This was clearly frustrating him. Then he said something again but Sasuke was able to understand at least one word.

"Um…Iie," Sasuke replied.

Katy eyed him.

"He asked if we could understand him though I only knew the understand word."

Her face dropped and her mouth formed an 'O'.

The Third Hokage walked over to the two of the. He then performed a series of handsigns before placing both of his hands on their heads. The two felt a slight shock of pain in their heads before it disappeared.

Katy groaned and held her head in one hand. "What the hell did he just do?" She gasped and slapped her mouth, eyes open wide. "Did I just speak Japanese?"

"Yes you did. I made it so that you two could understand what I was saying," said the Third Hokage. Both of the kids were surprised (Sasuke not actually showing it) that they could understand him now. He was chuckling at Katy's reaction before he turned serious. "As I was saying before, who are you two?"

"Oh!" Katy stood up to her feet and bowed. Sasuke stepped out of bed and copied her. "My name is Katy Rivera and this is my best friend, Sasuke Hailton."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Sasuke muttered. He went ahead to cross his arms and look bored. Katy only scoffed and shook her head disapprovingly. "What?"

"Could you be anymore impolite?"

He only shrugged.

"Excuse me, but did you say his name was Sasuke?" The Third Hokage asked.

"Yeah, what of it?"

Katy elbowed him in the ribs and glared at him. Then she turned to smile at the Hokage. "Yes, sir. His name is Sasuke."

The Hokage examined Sasuke up and down while Sasuke glared at him. He hated it when people did that. The old men gave him a strange look and muttered "It can't be…"

"Can't be what sir?" Katy asked.

"Nothing," sighed the Hokage. He shook his head and turned serious again. "What village do two come from?"

Katy's eyes widened while, mentally, Sasuke widened his own eyes. "V-Village?"

"Yes, which one?"

Katy fidgeted and gulped. Sasuke could see why though. They didn't come from this village _or_ any village for that matter. They weren't even from this dimension!

"Um, yeah. You see, we're not really from anywhere around her," Katy said nervously. "We're not going to lie but we come from Sacramento, California."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Sacramento?"

"Yes. It's in America but I'm sure you've never heard of it."

"I don't believe I have. I don't suppose you are lying because when you two were found in one of the training areas by one of our jonins, they searched all of your articles of find them not from around here," he explained. Then he eyed Katy's choice of clothing which was just a black T-shirt with blue jeans ripped at the knees and black converse. "And this young lady's clothing is strange even in the Rain village."

"Hey! What about Sasuke's!? Why are my clothes weird?"

"At least I could blend in, idiot," Sasuke coldly said. But Katy knew it was actually from amusement.

Katy scoffed. "That's because I got you those clothes from a cosplay store but the Uchiha fan isn't on the back."

Sasuke glared at her. He already knew that his clothes were the Uchiha's but without the clan insignia.

"You know about the Uchiha's?" The Third Hokage asked, indcredulously.

Katy laughed nervously while Sasuke shook his head and glared at his friend. Sometimes, she could be a real idiot.

"Yes, and we know about Konoha, some of the jonins like Kakashi and Anko and about a certain Naruto Uzumaki." She suddenly gasped and turned to Sasuke, eyes wide and a huge grin on her face. "Do you think I could go fangirl on most of the genin boys?! I mean, Neji , Naruto, Kiba and the Uchiha are _so_ hot!"

"No. Don't even think about embarrassing me in public and you're definetly not going near Sasuke Uchiha."

She pouted. "Aw! Come on, Sasuke! The Uchiha is-"

"Not in this village."

The two teens turned to face the Hokage, who was frowning. Katy blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"Before I can answer your questions, you must answer mine."

Katy gulped and reluctantly nodded.

"Alright. How do you two know so much about Naruto if you are not from around here?"

"You see, Lord Hokage, where we come from, this place," She waved her arms at the walls and room, "everything like the Elemental Nations are actually fiction, a story. More specifically, it's a manga."

"Manga?"

"Don't ask," said Sasuke.

"Yeah, and we know this story like the back of our hands! We know who Naruto is; An orphan who has been alone all his life and is hated by Konoha because of his –ahem- _foxy_ resident, and he also dreams to be Hokage someday so the villagers can respect.

"Too bad he's a complete idiot," muttered Sasuke.

"Sasuke, stop that!"

"So you know about the fox?" The Hokage asked.

Katy nodded. "It's the reason why nobody except you likes him right? And we know of the future like a certain _snake_ does something so horrible, both me and Sasuke here hate him."

The Hokage was silent for some time. During this time, Sasuke was able to think.

_So if the Third is still alive then that means the chunin exams haven't happened. So then where in the timeline are we?_

He snapped out of his thoughts to hear the Hokage sigh. "It seems like you two speak the truth. But I am skeptical of this 'manga' of yours."

"We don't care as long as you know we can do no harm to anyone," Sasuke coldly said. "We're barely from here so we can't do much damage."

He hesitantly nodded.

"I believe that you are no danger to the village."

Sasuke sighed, almost in relief but it sounded bored. "Now then, will you tell us what you mean when Sasuke Uchiha is not in this village?"

"You're very blunt, aren't you?" The Hokage chuckled but then it disappeared as quickly as it came. "It is just as I said. Sasuke Uchiha does not live in the village. He hasn't been seen since the massacre actually."

Katy's expression change to surprise while Sasuke only felt a feeling of dread.

"W-Wait, you mean he's gone?" Katy whispered. Sasuke could only guess she was afraid to find out. "Did he…die?"

The old man shook his head. "No. His body hasn't been found with his family members. He simply went missing."

Katy and Sasuke turned to each other, both surprised but only the former showing it. She bit her lip and surprisiong yelled out in English.

"_Oh my god, the Uchiha is missing! If he hasn't been found then the whole plot is screwed up because he was Naruto's rival!"_ She slapped her mouth and her eyes were wide. Then she narrowed her eyes and said in Japanese "I can switch languages. Cool! It's like I can speak in sub and dub at the same time!"

"Dork." Sasuke turned back to the Hokage. "Havne't you looked for him? After all, he _is _the last of the Uchihas."

"We have looked for years, I assure you, but to no luck," he said. "But I think we have finally found him."

"No way! Where?!" Katy demanded.

The Hokage chuckled and had a weird glint in his eyes as he stared directly at Sasuke. The teen felt uncomfortable and didn't like the look in his eyes. It was as if he knew something he didn't.

"Sasuke Uchiha is standing right next to you."

Katy arched an eyebrow and slowly turned to Sasuke, who's eyes were widening and very out of character for hi. He was dreadking the words as Katy's own brown eyes widened to saucer plates. Her mouth opened to say something then closed, too surprised to even speak. Sasuke tried to regain his own voice. After several failed attempts, he found only a bit of his voice.

"Are you saying I'm Sasuke Uchiha?"

The Hokage smirked and folded his hands behind his back.

"I'm saying _exactly_ that you are Sasuke Uchiha."

---

Ugh! Oh my god! I can't believe this happened!

For those of you who don't know why I'm so frustrated right now, it's because this chapter isn't the one I originally put up. That one accidentlally got deleted. Don't worry though! I saved the document and all, but the author's notes I wrote in the first one are gone now. That's probably a good thing since my A/N's were _way_ too long. The reason it got deleted was because I was going back to fix the spelling errors I made. I realized that I made a lot of them so I went back to fix them. Problem was that I accidentally uploaded chapter three where chapter two was so now I'm putting this back. If you guys notice, all of the spelling errors should be fine on some of them. However, chapter five is the only one I need to fix. Unfortunately the same thing happened with chapter two but the only thing is that I didn't save that one. So I'm going to have to retype the whole thing.

God damn it!

Anyway, please review!

-Twilit Angel


	3. I'm who?

**A/N: **Yay! I updated again! Whoo-hoo! I know that I usually update this on the weekends but the weekend started early for me! I have no school today (it's Friday!!!) because of this teacher meeting thing thats happening at school so no school! Woot! So I just want to thank all of you for the reviews, favorites, etc. that I'm getting for this story! About seven reviews for one chapter. It's more than I first got for Akatsuki's child! Yays! Oh! And I want to say thanks for all of the favorites I got for that song fic I made "Because of you". It was a really random thing that I made and I had no idea if it was good or not. So thank you! Anyways, has anyone read the latest chapter of Naruto? I'm just going to say that I was completely shocked. That's all I'm saying. So onto the story, ne?

**Disclaimer: Me and Naruto...hm...nope! Don't see anything going on there when it comes to owning!**

"Koniichiwa!"- Speaking in Japanese

"_Good bye!"_- Speaking in english

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 3

"No. Way," Sasuke could only say. He couldn't be Sasuke Uchiha. It was impossible! He couldn't a fictional character...Could he? "I'm not the Uchiha. I'm not even _from_ this dimension."

"_But Sasuke," _Katy said, _"it could be true. You can't you remember anything except your name and you _exactly _like Sasuke Uchiha and act like him."_

Sasuke felt himself becoming more irritated with each word she said. He was not Sasuke Uchiha! He was regular Sasuke Hailton; A regular kid! Not a fictional character! Not a traitor!

"_I've told you before, Katy,_" hissed Sasuke. _"I. Am. Not. Sasuke Uchiha."_

"_Sasuke, can you please hear me out!" _Katy pleaded. She was gritting her teeth and her eyes were slightly wide. _"I have known you since we were eight. I know you better than anyone else! So please, can't you just accept the fact that you could be Sasuke Uchiha! I know you hate but you have to consider this fact!"_

Sasuke glared at her, anger coursing through him. _"No. I am not going to consider it. I am not a traitor like him and I never will be._" (A/N: Uh-oh. Looks like someone's starting to go through denial! The first of the eight stages of grieving! Sort of.)

She groaned in frustration and ran a hand through her hair. _"Sasuke, for one in your fucking life, suck up your fucking pride and consider it! You know there's a saying: 'Don't knock it till you try it.'"_

"That applies with changes, not this," he muttered angerly.

"Well, it applies here!" she shouted, putting her hands on her hips. "And stop switching languages! It's getting annoying."

"Stick with Japanese so Lord Hokage can you understand as well." He gestured to the old man who was waiting patiently while the two were arguing.

Katy blushed when realizing this and bowed in apology to the Hokage. "I'm so sorry but Sasuke can't seem to accept the fact that he is the last of the Uchihas." She glared at Sasuke who only folded his arms.

"Hn."

"I understand. It may come as a shock to realizing this," he said. "But if it helps, would you like to have a blood test to check?"

"Will it get it through his thick head that he's an Uchiha?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll do it! Is that okay with you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke only narrowed his eyes at her but reluctantly nodded. He wouldn't mind checking first. He might not be the Uchiha at all. (A/N: Denial is not only a river in Egypt, Sasuke. XD)

"All right. Let me get a nurse to get the blood sample and then we'll head to my office to discuss your living arrangements."

Katy suddenly grinned. "You mean you're letting us live in the village?" When he nodded, she shouted with joy and pumped a fist in the air. "Yes! This is going to be so awesome!"

Despite his recent annoyance, Sasuke rolled his eyes. _It's just like her to act like Naruto._

So the Third Hokage went to go fetch a nurse to get the blood sample while the two ANBU still guarded the door. Sasuke sat by the window sulking and refuse to even look at Katy. After all, she was the one who teased that he was actually Sasuke Uchiha since they were ten. The fact that she could be right only irritated him to no end. The nurse soon came in and seemed shocked at the sight of him but she said nothing and quietly did her job. Sasuke barely flinched when the needle pierced his skin but Katy had to look away and didn't look back until the nurse left with the blood. She was pale in the face and shuddered. Although Sasuke was angry with her, he at least held her hand through her phobia.

The Hokage then entered the room and told to grab their things so they could leave. The teens were shocked to see that their backpacks had come with them to this new dimension. Katy was delighted to see her Ipod survived the trip; she really couldn't live without it. After they had put on their shoes, the two followed the Hokage out of the hospital and towards the Hokage tower.

When the entered the town, Sasuke and Katy were amazed by-well-_everything._ The streets were lively with activity. Children played with other children, merchants were flaunting out their goods greatly, villagers roamed either shopping or hanging out. Katy looked each of the stands that outstretched their arms to her but she ignored them. Sasuke was equally amazed but he didn't dare show it. This was a dream come true for him to be in the Naruto universe but he was going to have be cautious. If they told anyone things that not everyone knew, they could seriously mess up the timeline.

Much to Sasuke and Katy's dislike, they arrived at the office quickly when they wanted to see more of the village. They passed the secretary, who bowed upons entrance, and went to the Hokage's office. They were not surprised at the room though. They already knew what the office looked like. The Hokage went to sit in his chair and sighed in relief.

"I am afraid I'm getting too old for this."

"_How old is he?_" whispered Katy.

"_Seventy years old,"_ replied Sasuke. "So Lord Hokage, what are Katy and I supposed to do now?"

"I did say I would make living arrangements for you so I will," said the Hokage, pulling one of the drawers on the desk out. He searched through the drawer and pulled out a set of keys. He handed them to Sasuke. "There. Those keys are to a two bedroom apartment in town so you two don't need to share a room. The furniture should be there and the rent will be paid for by the village. I'm afraid for food and clothes, you will need jobs."

"Jobs?" Katy asked. "But we're only twelve!"

"That won't be a problem, would it? The average homeless child starts work at ten."

Katy's eyes grew wide before going back. "Wow. That young?"

"Yes but only one of you will need to find the job. The other will have to go the Academy to become a shinobi."

"Say what?" echoed Sasuke and Katy.

The Hokage stared at the kids. "Didn't you know? Only homeless children attending the Academy can have their rent paid for by the village."

"We didn't know that!" Katy began panicking and gripped her hair nervously. "Only one of us! That's so unfair! I want to become the ninja but I don't want to force Sasuke-kun to get the job and besides, he's more well built than I am but I really, _really _want to try but then again Sasuke is more athletic than me so it would be better if he went so I'll go find the job!"

"You sure?" asked Sasuke, uncertainly. They both wanted to go to the Academy to become ninjas. "Can't we both attend?" he asked the Hokage.

"Unfortunately, no. There is only one more spot open for the twelve year age group and I would prefer for you to be in that class," he answered.

"Then it's settled!" Katy released her head and a huge grin was on her face. "Sasuke will go study to be the shinobi while I go job-hunting!"

"Alright. Sasuke, report to the Academy at eight o'clock tomorrow." He pulled a piece of paper and handed it to Katy. "That is a map of the village so you won't get lost finding the Academy or your apartment."

Sasuke peeked over her shoulder to scan the paper. "Alright. How long until the Genin exams?"

"Only five months away. That should be plenty of time for you to catch with class."

Sasuke looked up back up at him and Katy followed.

"Seriously?" Katy asked.

"Yes. Why?"

Katy gave a shout.

"_I cannot believe this!" _she yelled out. "_We have _five months_ until the series actually starts! That is just ridiculous! I can't wait five months to see Kakashi! That's too long!"_

Sasuke was inwardly surprised by her yell. He hadn't seen Katy this mad ever since she discovered that they ran of those pictures of Itachi at the anime convention they went to.

"_Katy, calm down,_" said Sasuke. "_I need to catch up on the basics of the ninja way so I won't get killed. Do you want that to happen to me?"_

Katy calmed down slightly but sighed in frustration.

"Don't worry, she acts like this all the time," Sasuke explained to the startled Hokage. "She'll be fine."

"Alright," he hesitantly said. "I suggest you two to your apartment before it gets dark. And before I forget," he handed Sasuke a bag filled with Ryou. "That should be enough for a week of food, depending on what you spend it on."

Sasuke nodded and bowed in respect. Katy did the same.

"Thank you for everything that you have done for us, Lord Hokage," Katy said, grinning ear from ear.

He chuckled. "It was no problem. I hope you two will fell comfortable in Konoha."

"We will!"

With that, Sasuke and Katy exited the office and tower Then the two set off to look for their apartment with some help from their handy dandy map. It had taken them until sunset to find their apartment in the middle of town. They would have gotten there faster if Katy realized that the map was upside until they reached the edge of town. Sasuke unlocked the door and swung it open. He walked inside, feeling around the wall for the light switch, found it, and switched it on.

The light turned on to reveal that he stood in a sort of living room, complete with couch, a coffee table and a TV. Sasuke was confused about the TV but said nothing. He never understood why they had TVs and cables but no cars.

He felt Katy come up behind him and she whistled.

"Nice! We're really going to live alone."

"Hn."

Sasuke left Katy in the living room and went to go explore the rest of the apartment. True to the Hokage's words, there were two bedrooms that were next to each other and the bathroom was connected to each room. He would have to talk to Katy about who got to use the bathroom first in the mornings. Besides that, there was a kitchen with all the appliances in place. When checking around fro food, he found there to be none. They would have to go shopping for food tomorrow.

_Looks like we're eating out tonight,_ Sasuke thought causally. _We'll have to find a dango stand or something since we don't know how to eat with chopsticks._

"So is there anything to eat?" Katy asked upon entering the kitchen. Sasuke said nothing but she knew. "I'll take that as a no then."

"Where do you want to eat?" Sasuke asked. He exited the kitchen and walked to the front door, Katy behind him.

"Let's go to Ichiraku's ramen!" Katy suggested.

"No," was the blunt response.

"But why not!?"

Sasuke paused tying his shoes and looked up at Katy to give her an "Are you stupid?" look.

"Katy, do you even know how to eat with chopsticks?"

She opened her mouth to respond but then closed it.

"Exactly."

Sasuke finished putting on his shoes and waited until Katy finished putting on her shoes to walk out the door. After locking the front door, the two walked through the market and restaurant streets. Now that it was night time, lanterns and light were switched on and people bustled through. The continued to walk through, looking for a decent place to eat. Sasuke had to hold back Katy by the back of her shirt when they passed by Ichiraku's ramen. He almost decided to eat there when smelling the delicious scent of broth and chicken but told himself no. After a few minutes, they found a decent, traditional restaurant that served dango.

They entered the restaurant and was greeted by a waitress that looked to be a two or three years older than them. The waitress blushed at the sight of Sasuke who had his hands stuffed in his pockets, and almost glared at Katy. She then led the two to a table and took their orders. The waitress shot a flirtatious smile at Sasuke before she left.

"Wow, Sasuke. You were famous at home but this takes the cake," laughed Katy.

"Shut up."

"I wonder if you're going to have a fanclub here," she wondered and snickered. She stopped and coughed when catching Sasuke's death glare. "So anyways, what do you think the Academy will be like?" we never really got to see what really happened during their school days except for a few times."

Sasuke put his elbows on the table and folded his hands. He stared at the table, forming patterns into the wood. It was true that they never got to see the Rookie Nine's academy days except for a few episodes. So he had no idea what to expect when entering the classroom tomorrow. Would it be hard? Would it be easy? Would he be able to catch up in five months time to take the Genin exam? The answers were he had no idea.

Their orders of two sticks of dango and two cups of tea came and when the waitress left, they were hesitant to try it. Seeing as how both of them were picky eaters, they were always reluctant to try new foods. So as the one with pride, Sasuke took one bit of the dango. Surprisingly, he seemed to think it was okay. Katy followed his lead and fell in love with it.

They ate their meal in a comfortable silence. They had moments like this all the time where they wouldn't talk and enjoy one another's company. This was also mainly because Sasuke was a man of action, not words.

Katy finished her dango and held her cup of tea in her hands. She stared into the colored water before looking up at Sasuke. _"Sasuke-kun, I have to ask you something."_

Sasuke, who had finished his dango and was sipping his tea calmly, lowered the up onto the table, staring at his friend. _"Is it that important that you have to speak in English?"_

"_Yes. I want to ask you if you think it's right_" she said, sighing nervously, "_That we should change the storyline or not."_

Sasuke only stared at her. He knew she was talking about the Naruto storyline. It couldn't be anything else. And actually, he had been thinking about her question himself ever since they arrived there. He kept debating the pros and ocns of the idea of changing the storyline but they always balanced each other out. He didn't know which to choose at all.

"_I don't know_," he admitted. "_A lot of good things could benefit us if we change the storyline like the Third being alive but…"_

"_But?"_

"_If we do change something, we have no idea what the consequences will be. We know the story inside and out so it's like an advantage to us. If we change something in the story and something completely different from what we were expecting happens-"_

"_We're at a complete disadvantage," _Katy whispered, gripping her cup slightly. Narrowing her eyes and biting her lip, she stared at him. "S_o what if we only change little things? Something like, say, the curse mark! We could avoid that, can't we?"_

"_I suppose,"_ said Sasuke slowly. He wasn't sure if that was really a _small_ thing but he couldn't argue now. "_But things like the old man's death has to happen Otherwise, Tsunade never becomes the Fifth Hokage and that needs to happen."_

"_So what about the Sound-Sand attack? Do we still let Orochimaru attack?"_

"…_Yes."_

Katy gave a long depressed sigh and Sasuke couldn't blame her. They didn't want to see the Third die after all he had done for them. But they had to let if happen. Soon after her sigh, she shook her head and grinned as if nothing happened.

"_As long as we're on the subject of not changing anything," _she said, _"I want do discuss something with you."_

"_Like?"_

Sasuke was slightly creeped out when seeing her grin slowly transform into a cheshire-cat like smile. This couldn't be good.

"_Since we can't change major events then that means as Sasuke Uchiha, you will have to play the part of the avenger."_

"_No,_" Sasuke replied, not missing a heartbeat.

"_Aw, come on Sasuke! You have to! It's your job as one of the main characters that influence Naruto's life greatly!"_

He glared at her with cold eyes, the worst he ever glared at her.

"_I'm not the Uchiha. Never was, never will."_

Katy groaned and banged her head on the table.

"_Goddamnit, Sasuke! Will you just accept that fact already!? The Hokage already knew it the moment he saw you! You are him!"_

"_But we still have to hear the news of the blood test, idiot,"_ Sasuke retorted calmly, sipping his tea. It was sweet yet bitter in his mouth but it calmed him down.

Katy glared at him. "_For a moment, let's pretend you are Sasuke Uchiha. Would you still play the avenger?"_

"_No."_

"_What if it was someone else than Itachi you were planning on killing?"_

Sasuke pasued for a second. "_I'm listening."_

Katy grinned. "_I knew you would. So we both know and love the weasel-me more than you- and wouldn't want him to get killed. So I suggest instead of getting revenge on him, we get revenge on pedo-snake!"_

If Sasuke wasn't calm, he would have spit out the tea he was drinking. He swallowed his tea and stared at her. Was she serious?

"_I'm dead serious," _She said as if reading his mind. This was one crazy thing about Katy. Whenever Sasuke was thinking about something, Katy would ask the same thing or answer it. She sometimes joked she could read his mind. "_I say that we kill that snake for doing the things he did and are going to do! Are you with me?"_

Sasuke set down his cup and sighed. He didn't know whether to agree with her and kill Orochimaru or not. Sure, he hated the snake and was creeped out beyond belief by him but he couldn't kill him.

_Yet,_ he added in his mind.

"_I'll think about it but for now we should head back. I have to get to the Academy by eight o'clock tomorrow morning."_

"_Right."_

They paid for their mean and headed back to their apartment. When entering the apartment, they went to their bedrooms and prepared for bed. Because Sasuke didn't have any other clothes than the ones he had on, he decided to sleep in his shorts only. So he took off his shirt, threw it somewhere, and climbed into bed. The moment his head hit the pillow, he realized how tired he was and yawned. Pale eyelids fought off the sleep but lost the battle as Sasuke slipped into a dreamless darkness.

* * *

**Yes! Another chapter done! Just so that you guys know, I _will_ be following the plot line of the Naruto series because I said so. But some things will be changed so BEWARE!!! (God, I sound like the box-ghost from the show Danny Phantom XP) And I'm not going to say what's going to be changed so nyahh! So yeah. Don't have much to say except this:**

**I NEED AT LEAST THREE REVIEWS FOR EACH CHAPTER OR ELSE I WON'T UPDATE!!!**

**SO REVIEW!!!!!!  
**


	4. First day at the Academy

**A/N:** Hey peoples! So here's that chapter I was promising! I don't really feel like saying much right now cause I'm so freaking tired. I spent the day playing my new Pokemon Platinum Version (yes, I'm a pokemon nerd. Sue me), did my homework which is mega long and involves algebra, and I had to retype this because this was accidentally deleted when I could have had it up earlier! But now here's the chapter. Enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't think Kishimoto will let me.**

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 4

The next morning, Sasuke woke up to the warmth of something he couldn't explain. He groggily opened his eyes to see Katy next to him, his arms around her waist. Startled, he released her and she rolled off the bed. In a huff, she stood to her feet, glaring at him.

"Thank God! I came in here to wake you up and I get hugged to death!"

"How long was I hugging you?" Sasuke asked, ruffling his spiky ebony locks sleepily. "And what time is it?"

"One, you were death hugging me for ten minutes and two, it's," she glanced at her watch and her eyes widened. "Seven fifty!"

"Shit!"

In a rush, Sasuke climbed out of bed and hurried to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face to chase away the sleepiness, dried, and ran back to his room to find his bed made and his dark blue shirt on top of the sheets. He grabbed the shirt and started putting it on as he ran into the living room. Katy was sitting on the couch while her eyes scanned a newspaper she held.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, I'm going to go grocery shopping and job hunting while you're at school, okay?"

"Sure!" He wasn't really paying attention to her as he hurriedly put on his shoes. "Later Katy!"

"Have fun at your new school!"

Sasuke nodded and ran out the door. He was able to get through the town and towards the Academy easily. Before they had found the apartment yesterday, he was able to memorize the fastest route from the location of their apartment to the Academy. He was always a fast learner and this was one of the cases. In under ten minutes, Sasuke reached the entrance to the Academy. There, he slowed down to a walking pace and stuffed his hands in his pockets. When walking to the door, he found a man with brown hair tied up in a ponytail and he was wearing a sort of black pants and a long sleeve dark top with a green vest with many pockets on the front over it. The one thing that caught Sasuke's attention was the scar that ran across his nose.

The man was surprised when Sasuke appeared there so quickly but he hid his surprise behind a smile.

"Hello. I'm Iruka Umino," greeted Iruka. "Are you Sasuke Uchiha?"

Sasuke's eye twitched at the last name but nodded.

"Alright then. Follow me."

Iruka entered through the door and Sasuke followed him to enter a hallway.

"Now Sasuke. Lord Hokage has told me you have less than five months to learn about four years worth of lessons," Iruka said as they walked through the school hallways. "I'm a bit worried though. I'm not sure if you will be ready in time for the genin exam but considering what clan you come from, I'm sure you'll do fine. After all these years, I still remember that you were the top of your class before the accident happened."

Sasuke said nothing. He wasn't surprised that Iruka thought that he was actually Sasuke Uchiha (he's still in denial) but he was when hearing the last sentence. He always knew the Uchihas were smart but the Uchiha wasn't smart enough to graduate from the Academy early? He wondered why the Uchiha graduated at the age of twelve instead of at seven like his brother did.

Iruka stopped at one of the doors and entered it. He left the door open. Sasuke was able to peek inside and watched Iruka from his position. He couldn't exactly see the class from where he stood.

"Now class. Today we will be having a new student joining us," he heard Iruka announce. The class broke out into whispers but were silenced by their teacher. "Now I want everyone to make him feel welcome. And also, some of you may remember him from when you first entered the Academy." He turned to Sasuke. "You may come in now."

Sasuke proudly yet boredly walked into the classroom. It wasn't until he was facing the class did he notice that most of them were the Rookie Nine. But unfortunately, he also noticed the hearts in all of the girls' eyes. Most of them were giggling about how cute he was and were wondering who he could be. Sasuke noticed that only Hinata wasn't staring at him. Instead, she was staring at Naruto who was the seat below her.

"Class, this is Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka said.

The whole room became dead silent. Sasuke only stared as the students looked at him in shock, surprise and something else. Mostly it was shock that was evident in their faces. He saw one of the boys he didn't know from the series raise his hand.

"Iruka-sensei, I thought that the whole clan was wiped out?"

"Not exactly. Remember we told you Sasuke's body wasn't found so it was possible that he was still alive. Anyway, Sasuke, you may sit wherever you like."

Just by saying those words, most of the girls reacted. They waved their hands in the iar shouting "Sit by me, Sasuke-kun!" For once in his life, Sasuke was inwardly afraid for his life. He _hated_ fangirls and kunoichi fangirls were the worst. Glancing around the room for an empty seat, he spotted a seat in the back next to Hinata. So he walked over to the seat, ignoring the looks he received by most of the girls and sat down next to Hinata. He saw that Hinata stared at him for a while before turning her head away.

The moment that he had sat down, the girls had disappointed looks on their faces and they glared at Hinata. They turned away though when Iruka began that day's lesson.

The morning passed by quickly for Sasuke. He paid attention to the lessons and was interested in everything. Actually, he was surprised to see that there was more to being a ninja than knowing the chakra system, throwing weapons, and knowing jutsu seals. He was even more surprised that he somewhat understood the material. Somewhat. He could get some things like the hand seals and how to notice a genjutsu but he had no idea on what do do for his taijutsu training. Sure two days ago he got karate but that was probably luck! Taijutsu was a whole different leve. He was lucky that they didn't practice Taijutsu yet. So the day started out pretty well.

Sasuke's good day soon turned bittersweet the moment recess started.

Sasuke was just about to leave the classroom to go outside when he noticed that the girls were all staring at him. Then he heard a familiar voice nearby.

"What the hell is so special about stupid Sasuke?"

"You take that back, Naruto! Sasuke-kun is way better than you!" One of the girls yelled.

Sasuke turned around to see that Naruto was glaring at him.

"Yeah right! I bet I could kick his ass!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto.

"Hn. Dobe."

"What did you say, you teme!?"

He smirked. He was going to have so much fun pissing off Naruto.

"What? Are you deaf too?"

Naruto took a step at Sasuke, angrily.

"Shut the hell up! Don't act so high and mighty just because you're new! I could kick your ass right now!"

"Yeah right, baka! You can barely do a bunshin so what makes you think that you could beat Sasuke-kun!?" Another girl demanded.

"Yeah! He's only been here for one day and he gets most of the things unlike you!" Another girl said. " You've been here for four years and you still don't get it!"

"I could beat this teme any day!" Naruto shouted.

"You're not even worth it."

That crossed the line for Naruto. He turned to Sasuke and practically leapt at him from his place two feet away. Sasuke didn't know what happened next but he stepped to the side. Naruto's face collided with the wall and he slid down in a heap. The people who were in the classroom erupted in laughter.

Sasuke headed to the door. Just before he left, he stopped at the doorway, turned to Naruto and muttered "Not even worth it, Dobe." He left and headed outside before Naruto could chase after him. If he stuck around, he would certainly get his ass handed to him on a silver platter and he didn't want that to happen on his first day. Otherwise, he would never live it down.

A few minutes later, he was leaning against a wall outside munching on a few rice balls he bought earlier. He was wondering what Katy was doing and how she was doing on the job hun when out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a group of girls a fair distance away from him. The group also included Ino Yamanaka in it. From his place, Sasuke could hear them giggling and whispering about him.

"Wow! Sasuke-kun is so cool!"

"He's so mysterious!"

"He must be so strong!"

"Uchiha's are so good looking!"

Sasuke inwardly groaned in frustration. Even here, the fangirls would talk about him! He was a little pissed that they were even calling him "Sasuke-kun." Only Katy could call him that and get away with it. After all, she was his sister in a way so it was her job to be annoying.

Sasuke finished his rice balls and went to explore around the area. He wanted to go check out the place to see if there were things that the anime never showed. There were some things like the training grounds and all but that was about it. He exited to head outside since he went to go look around the school and found himself in the entrance of the Academy. Looking around, he spotted one stone bench he knew so well.

_So this is the famous stone bench that the Uchiha left Sakura on,_ Sasuke thought as he walked over to the bench, raising an eyebrow. To him it was pretty normal but it wouldn't be in the future. He sat down, staring at the ground. _The Uchiha just made mistake after mistake._

Truth be told, Sasuke was slightly sympathetic for Sakura Haruno. After he read that fateful chapter where the Uchiha left Sakura on the very bench he was sitting on, that was when he felt sorry for her. Sure, Sakura was annoying and all but she didn't deserve to have her heart broken like that. When Katy read that chapter, she was pissed that the Uchiha did that and hated him for weeks.

"Um, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke was broken out of his thoughts when he heard another familiar voice. He looked up and saw a familiar pink haired girl with emerald green eyes. She was blushing and smiling at him. He stared at her stoically.

"What do you want?"

Sakura was unfazed by his cold tone. "I was wondering....if you want to hang out sometime?"

Sasuke, out of habit, glared at her. "No. I have things to do." He stood up, stuffed his hands in his pockets and left a rejected frowning Sakura. By the time he walked back to the classroom, he realized what he said.

_Damn it! I did not just say that to her,_ he groaned inwardly as he sat down, folding his hands as he put his elbows on the desk. _I told myself I would never be like the Uchiha and I just did! Katy's going to kill me for hurting Sakura's feelings..._

It wasn't his fault he acted like that. It was jsut a habit. When girls in his class asked him out, he would act the same way he just did with Sakura. They asked him out all the time so he picked up that stupid habit. Katy would laugh every time he was asked out and the girl who asked him would glare at her. But now in the Naruto world, it would be a whole different game. He feared for his sister's life.

Back home, girls only threw Katy dirty looks for being the only girl to get close to Sasuke. No matter how many time she told them they were only friends, they hated her. That's why Katy didn't have many friends. Now that they were in their favorite show's world, it would only get worse. Girls would seriously kill Katy for even being _near_ Sasuke. He hoepd she knew how to run and hide quickly.

For the rest of the day, Sasuke couldn't concentrate as much as he had earlier. It was because of the bench scene from earlier kep replaying in his head. Every time he thought about it, he had a weird feeling inside of him. It made him feel uncomfortable and shakey and less focused. He would have to ask Katy about that feeling later.

The bell finally ran, signaling the end of the day. For this, Sasuke was glad. Earlier during shuriken practice, he had accidentally cut his fingers holding the sharp object. He only ignored it and hid his hands from Iruka so that he wouldn't banadage them in front of the class. In a class full of aspiring ninjas-in-training, it would be death by humiliation. He tried to ignore it but the cuts started to sting. He grabbed his stuff and casually walked out to the school entrance. Once there, he spotted the same group of girls from during recess. They giggled loudly when Sasuke walked out and eyed him. He shuddered inwardly and made to leave but stopped when his name was called.

"Sasuke-kun!!!"

Sasuke turned around and was suddenly being glomped. He knew who his glomper was by the orangey-reddish hair and the pink highlights.

"Hi, hi, Sasuke-kun!" Katy greeted hyperly. She released him and was grinning like an idiot at him. "Did you miss me?"

"Hn." Sasuke stared at her and his eyes wandered down and narrowed. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Katy giggled as she fixed her very strange outfit.

"Do you like it?" Katy asked, giggling.

"Where did you even get that?" SAsuke asked, eyeing the clothing.

"I got it! And you'll never believe it! I have _two_ jobs now!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Two?"

She nodded. "And you'll never believe how I got them?"

"How?"

"Well..."

* * *

**Okay, so there's the chapter! So the next one will be about Katy's day while Sasuke's at school. I can't believe I made him just badmouth Naruto like that! I hate it when he does that to the poor blond since Naruto is obviously stronger than him anyday! But for the sake of the story, I have to. Well, I have to get to bed now because of stupid school so I leave only this to say:**

**REVIEW!!!!!!  
**


	5. Job hunting

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 5

_Earlier that day..._

Katy was walking through the town, searching for a place that could offer her a job. She consulted a newspaper to search if any job would suit her, but she found none. So she decided to look around town. Unfortunately, no store would hire her.

"Sorry, but we don't need anymore employees," they would all say to her when she asked if they were hiring.

Katy went to each store, recieving this answer. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and decided to take a short break and grab some food. She went to a dango shop in twon and ordered some dango and juice.

_Job hunting is harder than it looks,_ she sighed sadly. She leaned her elbow on the table and propped her head on her hand. _No wonder Mom hated it when she was looking for a job._

"Excuse me, but what's the matter?"

Katy turned around to see one of the waitresses that worked there at the shop. The waitress had her order and set them down on the table. She smiled kindly at Katy.

"Why the long face?"

Katy sighed, remembering her situation. "I can't seem to find a job anywhere in town."

The waitress seemed surprised. "You're looking for a job? What about your parents? Don't they have jobs?"

She shook her head. "I, uh, don't have parents. I actually live with my friend in an apartment and he's attending the Academy. That's why I'm looking for a job. So that we could support ourselves."

The waitress stared at Katy, who nibbled on her dango. Then she smiled and headed into the kitchen.

Katy was taking occasional bites, wondering where she should go find work next. She was about to take a sip of her juice when the waitress that served her called her. She turned around to see an older woman with the waitress beside her. The old woman had brown hair that started to gray and an apron around her waist. Her eyes studied Katy up and down. Then she nodded.

"All right. She seems suitable enough."

"Huh?" Katy uttered, blinking. "What do you mean?"

"This is my boss," the waitress introduced. "I told her that you were looking for work. I asked her to offer you a waitressing job here and she says you could."

"Do you have any experience as a waitress?" The old woman asked.

"No, but I could try!" Katy enthusiastically said. "I really need this job so I'm willing to try!"

"Hm..." The old woman eyed her again. "Before I can hire you, I have to see firsthand how you'll do. Follow me."

She walked away into the kitchen and Katy followed her. The kitchen was small and a bit cramped as two cooks were preparing food. She stood awkwardly by the door, not sure what she was going to do. The old woman came back and had a try that carried a plate of dango and juice.

"Here," She thrust the tray of food into Katy's hands and pushed her outside roughly yet gently. Katy only blinked as she was pushed. The woman held her shoulders behind her. "Serve this to that young lady over there." She pointed to a table that only had one person sitting there: a woman with purple hair tied up and had a Konoha hitai-ate around her forehead that only qualified ninjas of the village possessed. Katy instantly knew who that was. "Go now!"

Katy took a deep breath to calm herself, then pulled out a small smile. Then she walked over to where the woman sat and said, "Here's your order, miss!"

The woman turned to her and gasped. "Hey, I know you! You're one of those kids I found outside the Forest of Death!"

Katy, who was setting down the food, almost dropped her tray and stared at the woman. Her eyes began to take recognition. "Wait a minute...You mean, _you're_ the jonin who found me and my friend!?"

The woman nodded and grinned. "That's me, alright! The name's Anko Mitarashi!" She grabbed a stick of dango and began eating it, all the whle staring at Katy. "So kid, do you work here?"

Katy's face began to heat up and she grinned nervously. "Ah...well, not really but I'm trying to get a job here. And my name isn't kid! It's Katy! Katy Rivera!"

Anko only blinked. "Katy? Strange name you have there."

"Not as strange as Sasuke's," she muttered.

"What?"

"So anyway, Anko," Katy quickly said to cover her last sentence, "do you eat here a lot?"

"Yup! Dango is one of my favorite foods! I'm sort of their favorite customer."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!" Anko twirled the stick that once had dango on it, grinning and eyeing Katy. She felt uncomfortable, almost seeing her grin as sadistic. "You know, Katy, you don't seem that bad for someone I just met. Even if you do dress weird."

Katy grinned, but was annoyed by that last comment. It wasn't her fault that she didn't go shopping yet for new clothes. Even if, she didn't have the money to by them. She hated being poor.

She snapped out of her annoyance when the old woman came over. The old woman smiled at Anko.

"What do you think of this young lady?" she asked Anko. "I still have yet to hire her, but I wanted to see how she fared with my favorite customer."

"She's alright," Anko admitted. "I like her better than the others since she's pretty unique. Not to mention there's something about her I like."

Katy smiled widely. She was being complimented by one of the only jonins she liked! It was practically an honor in her eyes.

The old woman chuckled. "I suppose. She happens to know what she's doing although this is the first time she's waitressing."

Anko whipped her head to Katy, almost amazed. "No kidding? This kid looks like she's been doing it for awhile. Katy, is this your first job too?"

Katy nodded, her head hung to hide her embarrassment.

"Wow, this kid's a natural."

"So it would seem. Alright, Katy-san. You may have this job," the old woman declared, smiling. "You start tomorrow at three o'clock. You'll be working from that time to seven o'clock at night. Understand?"

"Thank you so much!" Katy thanked her, bowing. "I promise to work very hard!"

"Now, now," said the old woman dismissively. "I would hire anyone my favorite customer would approve of." She smiled at Anko, who was eating her second stick of dango. Then she took the tray back from Katy and walked back to the kitchen.

Katy sat down at Anko's table on the bench across brom her. Her smile was still on her face. She was so glad she finally got a job! Now she and Sasuke wouldn't starve or have to wear the same clothes every day, although they seemed to do that anyway in manga. Speaking of Sasuke, she wondered how he was doing? She wondered if he was being attacked by fangirls and actually trying to act like who he was supposed to be. Knowing Sasuke's character and personality, he would be fine. The only thing she couldn't understand was why Sasuke couldn't accept the fact that he was Sasuke Uchiha? All the signs like thier appearances and likes ponted to being him. So why wouldn't he?

_He'll accept it soon enough,_ Katy thought with a sigh. When the blood test results came back, he would see it.

After awhile of watching Anko eat, she started to get bored. And whenever she gets bored, she usually draws. She reached into her back pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper and a pencil. Unfolding the paper, it revealed to be a drawing of an anime girl with her own unique ninja clothes. Katy was really good at coming up with different clothes designs and sometimes made her own. Most of the time she was too embarrassed to let anyone know she ever drew clothes that only seemed suitable for ninjas. Sasuke was the only one to know she did this. Right now her drawing was only wearing a battle kimono. She set the drawing on the table and began to continue it.

She was so absorbed with finishing her drawing that she didn't realize that Anko was staring at her drawing.

"Hey, that's a pretty good drawing," Anko commented, leaning over the table to see her drawing. "You an artist?"

"Hm?" Katy snapped out of her drawing dze and blinked. "Oh, sort of. I'm actually a clothes designer but only when it comes to what kunoichis like you could wear. Take a look." She pushed her drawing towards her.

Anko took one look and let out a low whistle. "Damn. Not that bad. A kunoichi would definitely wear this." As her eyes stared at the paper, she suddenly grinned. "Katy, would you mind a second job?"

Katy raised an eyebrow. "That depends. What kind of job?"

"You'll see."

Anko paid for her meal and then took Katy by her arm, leaving the dango shop. The purple haired woman dragged the twelve year old to God knows where in the village. Katy wondered where Anko was taking her and what kind of job she meant. She didn't really mind that she could have a second job unless its hours interfered with her waitressing job.

Finally, Anko stopped in front of a shop in the main marke street. Katy took one look at the shop window which showed a display of a few shirts with ninja weapons next to them. Her eyes widened but said nothing. Anko instructed her to wait outside while she went to go speak with the owner of the store. Katy obeyed her and stood outside by the window. Occasionally, she turned around to see Anko speaking with a blond haired woman and pointing at Katy. Katy wondered what they were saying but forgot about it when she stared absently at the clouds in the sky.

"Katy," Anko called her, poking her head out the door. Katy turned to her. "Can you come in?"

Katy nodded and followed Anko into the store. She was instantly surprised when setting her eyes inside. There were many types of clothing and weapons especially made for kunoichis. It was like her wildest dream and wanted so badly to make up her own kunoichi outfit but restrained herself. It would have to wait until later. Anko led her to the blond haired woman. She was pretty for her age as she was wearing a fishnet shirt and a short skirt. If it weren't for her scrutinizing blue eyes scanning her, Katy would have liked her.

"So you want me to hire _her?_" The blond asked in an annoying high pitched voice. Katy's eye twitched at the pitch it reached and the evident disgust. It reminded her of a girl she hated. "I don't know..."

"Just give her a shot," said Anko. "She seems better than she looks."

The blond's eyes scanned her again and nodded. "Alright, but I'm going to put her to the test first. Is that find with you, Miss...?"

"Katy," she responded.

"Whatever. Now before I can hire you, I have to see your tastes. You need to come up with an outfit that a kunoichi would wear that has to be good. You can only use the clothes in this store and when you're done, I will decide if I like the outfit. If I end up liking it no only will I hire you but I will let you keep the outfit you put together."

Katy's eyes brightened. No only did she get the job if she passed the test, she could get a new outfit? "Really?" she asked hopefully.

She gave a curt nod.

"Can I start now?"

"Fine. Go."

Katy squealed before getting to work. She gasped at every single item she thought of putting together with her clothes but only took ones that would seem good. After all, she didn't want her clothes to look too slutty. But at the same time, she didn't want it to be like she looked like a guy. It had to be in between and comfortable at the same time. That was going to be easy for her.

As quick as she stared, Katy was done getting all the items she needed and ran into the changing room. Once she locked the door, she pulled off her shirt and jeans to replace them with a long sleeved dark red shirt that showed her shoulders and the straps of the orange tank top she had on underneath. There was also a black skirt that reached her thighs and was slitted to reveal the skin tight shorts underneath. She had to sit on the ground as she ripped off her shoes and socks to lace up dark red boots that reached her knees. She stood back up when that was done and ran back outside.

"I'm done!" Katy declared, a grin on her face. Her grin grew wider when seeing the blond woman's open mouth.

"Wow..." The blond breathed, circling Katy and examining her. "Not half bad."

Katy giggled. "Thanks! So...do I get the job?"

She nodded. "Definitely! I could use you to help some of the kunoichis around her to come up with some clothes that they can wear on missions. You're hired!"

"Alright!" Katy pumped her fist in the air. "And I can keep the outfit?"

"A deal's a deal."

"Whoo-hoo!" Katy cheered. She glanced around her new work and her face fell when seeing the clock on the wall. It read three o'clock. The time that Sasuke got out of school. Her eyes widened when realizing that she told herself that she would go surprise him. "Shit!" She bowed to her new boss and Anko. "I'm so sorry but I have to go now. I'm late to go meet my friend!"

Before they could say anything, Katy rushed out of the store and towards the Acadmey. She smiled at herself as she ran there.

_At least I won't be bored while Sasuke's at school,_ she thought happily. She declared this day to be the best ever so far. There would be more good days to come in the future.


	6. The Chase

"Hi!"- English

"Konnichiwa!"- Japanese.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Only Katy belongs to me.

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 6

"So that's how I got my two jobs," Katy concluded her story. She stared at Sasuke silently, gauging his reaction.

Sasuke said nothing, just staring back at her. So she met Anko? The crazy snake jonin lady that supposedly them by the Forest of Death and Orochimaru's former student? And she helped Katy find two jobs, one of which was her dream job? He didn't know which one he should be shocked at the most: Being found by the Forest of Death or that out of all the jonin, Anko was the one to find them. It was both.

"Uh, Sasuke?" Katy waved her hand in front of her brother's face which was currently blanked out. "Yoo-hoo! Anyone home?"

Sasuke snapped out of it and glared at her. "Knock it off."

"Sorry but there's one more thing I need to tell you and it's really important!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"On the way here, I stopped by the hospital to get your blood results."

"And? What did it say?"

Katy laughed nervously and rubbed her neck. "Um...yeah. I don't know if I should say 'Congrats' or 'I'm sorry' but I'll settle for 'I told you so!'"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further. "Don't tell me-"

"That I was SO right!" Katy giggled, a happy grin on her lips. "After two years, I was right all along! You are him and I even have the medical records to prove it! Take that, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke only gritted his teeth, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and closed his eyes in annoyance. Damn it! Even without the medical records, there was no doubt about it. No matter how much he disliked the idea, he had to reluctantly give up the fight.

He really was Sasuke Uchiha.

He growled to himself. Just thinking that thought only seemed to piss him off! He couldn't believe that he was the one character he hated out of all the main ones. That really sucked on so many levels for him. And now he had to be a part of the story. Otherwise, Naruto would never be fully developed as a character and if that happened, it would mess up the whole point of the series.

Oh joy.

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Katy asked. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes," she muttered. She sighed and grabbed his wrist. "Come on. Let's go-"

"Get your hands off of Sasuke-kun!!!"

Katy froze and turned to see Ino and some of the other Academy girls glaring at her. Ino was glaring at Katy's hand on Sasuke's wrist and scowled at her.

"Who do you think you are, touching Sasuke-kun like that?!" She demanded.

Katy let go of Sasuke's wrist and narrowed her eyes at Ino. She didn't really like Ino that much because she was Sakura's rival and another fan girl.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked. Even if she knew who Ino was, she couldn't say her name yet and pretend she didn't know her.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka, Sasuke-kun's girlfriend!" she stated.

This earned her a few glares from the other girls.

"You, Sasuke's girlfriend?" Katy scoffed. "You must be paranoid because he doesn't have a girlfriend!"

"Oh yeah? How would you know? And who the hell are you?"

"My name's Katy Rivera, Sasuke's best friend." Katy smirked. "Sasuke-kun would have told me if he was in a relationship. And even if, he would never date a slut like you."

Some of the girls gasped while Ino threw her a dirty look.

"Me, a slut?" Ino scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not a slut! You, on the other hand," she eyed Katy's clothes and sneered. "You dress like a whore! Seriously, who in their right mind would wear a skirt that short and wear red with orange?"

Katy's eye twitched as she closed her right hand in a fist. "Speak for yourself! That skirt shows way too much skin and that is way too small! No girl in their right or wrong minds would even think about showing that much skin!"

"What did you say?!" Ino shrieked.

"Yeah! And don't even get me started on you hair."

"What the hell are you talking about!? There is nothing wrong with my hair!"

"You're a kunoichi-in-training, right?" asked Katy as she folded her arms. "You should know that a lot of the kunoichis who have long hair tie theirs up. But sometimes, long hair can get in the way of missions and respectable kunoichis wouldn't be spending their time on their hair. Instead, it would be on training."

She was referring to the face that Ino and Sakura spend most of their time on boys until the Chunin Exams knocked some sense through their heads. It infuriated and annoyed her that they only cared about their looks to impress Sasuke. Not all guys were into what a girl looked like (okay, maybe they were).

"So? I'll have you know that Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair!" Ino stated with a hint of snobbery in her voice.

"No. Sasuke-kun likes girls who train! He doesn't care about what a girl looks like as long as they're strong!"

Ino futhered her glare until her eyes were slits.

"How would you know? I bet you're not even his friend!"

"Are too! I know for a fact that he doesn't care about looks!"

"Yeah, sure. I've known him longer than you have and I know he likes girls with long hair!"

"You don't know anything about him! All you know are that he looks handsome and his background! And he hates fan girls!"

The girls gasped before glaring at Katy. She was unaffected though.

"He doesn't hate us! He's just shy!" One of them shouted.

Katy rolled her eyes. "Sure he is. But I know he can't stand most girls."

"Oh yeah? Then he must not like you!" Ino said.

"Yes he does!" Katy's face started to feel hot. These girls were seriously annoying her. "I'm his friend even if I am a girl! Tell'em Sasuke!"

She turned around to face Sasuke but he wasn't there. She glanced around and found him to be nowhere in sight.

"Sasuke?" She called. Where did he go?

Katy clenched her left hand but snapped it back open when feeling something sharp. She brought her hand up to see a slip of paper in her hands. She scanned the paper to see Sasuke's handwriting in English.

_Went shopping for food so see you at home_

_-Sasuke_

_P.S. You're on your own with Ino and the fangirls_

Katy reread the slip of paper and glared at it. How dare he leave her to vicious kunoichi fan girls so that he would get food! What kind of friend was that? And how did he leave so quietly and put a slip of paper in her hand without her noticing?

_Duh! He's a ninja-in-training!_ A voice her head reminded her. _He knows all about being sneaky._

She almost smacked her head. She was so stupid to forget that.

"You chased Sasuke-kun away!" Ino accused her when realizing that Sasuke wasn't around anymore.

Katy crumpled up the paper and turned to glare at Ino. "Me? I didn't chase him away! You barbie bitches did that!"

After those words left her mouth, she slapped her mouth in shock. The girls gasped and glared at her as if they would kill her. Katy took a step back. She had never been so afraid for her life by fan girls before now. She was beyond dead.

"You have crossed the line, you slut," said Ino menacingly, cracking her knuckles.

The other girls did the same and advanced on her.

"W-Wait! That didn't come out right!" Katy quickly said, backing up from the killer fan girls. They kept advancing towards her. She quickly glanced around the area before gasping and pointing in a random direction. "Look! Sasuke's right there!"

The girls turned around with hearts in their eyes squealing "Sasuke-kun!!!"

The moment they turned their back on her, Katy took this window of opportunity and tried to sneak out unnoticed. They didn't notice her leaving which was a good sigh. Her heart began to race as she neared the only way leading to town.

_Just a bit further... _Katy thought, smiling at getting away unscathed. Taking another step brought her closer to freedom until...

"Hey, she's getting away!"

"Shit!" Katy took a quick glance over her shoulder to see the girls running at her. She gasped and almost immediately started to run towards town. Behind her, she could hear the kunoichis-in-training yelling after her. She cursed her bad luck as she ran through a market street.

"SASUKE UCHIHA, YOU ARE DEAD WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!!!" Katy screeched at her friend who got her into this mess.

Halfway across the village in another market street, Sasuke smirked. He found her threat amusing and wondered how she would hide from the kunoichis.

_Oh well. She got herself into this mess, so she'll have to get herself out of it._

He chuckled. This was going to be a long day for Katy.

Meanwhile, Katy was currently running for her life. As she avoided hitting any pedestrians, she also had to find a way to lose the fan girls. This proved to be difficult task seeing as how they were trained to track and find. At the same time as running for her life, Katy also had to dodge the multiple weapons that were being thrown at her. Since she didn't have fast reflexes, she had to keep looking behind her should and try to dodge it but it would always graze some part of her skin somehow. Once, she even saw Ino preparing to use her mind transfer technique but she was able to avoid it by turning a corner and out of her line of fire. Katy wished for a miracle to make this cat and mouse chase end.

_God, if you help me out, I promise to never insult others ever again when I lose my temper!_ Katy prayed, turning her eyes to the blue sky.

That was a bad move.

The moment her eyes turned to the sky, she didn't notice the person in front of her. She ended up smacking straight into the person and they both fell to the ground. Katy groaned when she fell and recovered as quickly as possible.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Katy apologized. She looked down to see who she bumped into to see blond hair, blue eyes, and a neon orange jumpsuit. She realized who he was but said nothing.

"No, it's okay!" the boy happily said. He stood up and grinned. "That happens all the time.'

"Are you sure? You're not hurt?"

He shook his head. "Something like that can't hurt a future Hokage like me!"

Katy giggled. He was so sure he was going to be Hokage someday. She found it cute. She stopped giggling when sensing a danger behind her. It was the fan girls, she was sure of it. Taking a quick glance behind her. it was correct.

"Quick! Tell me the best place to hide from fan girls!" said Katy as she turned to the blond boy.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Katy pointed behind her to the girls. "That's why!"

He glanced over her should and his mouth dropped open. He turned to her, eyes wide. "You got the teme's fan girls mad at you!? Even Ino!?"

She nodded. "Now I need to find somewhere to hide so I can live to see tomorrow! Please help!"

"Try hiding in the, um, training field! It's big so you can hide in the trees easily!" he suggested.

Katy gave him a quick hug before running into the directing he pointed to in the forest, yelling over her shoulder, "Thank you!"

She ran through the forest trail that would lead to the training field. She couldn't really hear the fan girls behind her but she didn't stop running. There was no way she was going to waste her chances. Her leg muscles started to ache with each step she took and her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She vaguely thought that running like this, it was as if she were about to die.

_I'm not about to die but it's close to it,_ she thought warily. She could die since she insulted girly kunoichis.

Katy slowed down as she entered a clearing. The clearing itself was fairly large. There were logs here and there but the rest were just space and trees. She was amazed at how big the clearing was but she was surprised to see a girl here as well. Katy walked a bit closer to see who the girl was. When she was close enough, she could see it was a girl about her age with black almost blue short hair. She was wearing a tan coat a size bigger than her and the standard black ninja pants. She also had the ninja equipment on her. Katy didn't know who that was but she was vaguely familiar.

Katy practically jumped a foot in the ari when hearing shouts not too far away. She cursed when it was the fan girls. She ran over to the girl by the logs and yelled, "Excuse me!"

The girl had turned around. Katy could now see lavender colored eyes so it looked like she was blind. The girl looked surprised when Katy stopped in front of her. Katy's brown eyes were wide with fear.

"P-Please! Y-You have to help me!" Katy panted, exhausted. "I-I need somewhere to hide quick!"

"B-But w-why?" the girl asked quietly.

"Please, just hide me! I'll explain later!" She could hear the shouts getting closer and closer.

The girl glanced around and her eyes stopped at a nearby tree. "Ano, you can hide up there."

Katy glanced at the tree and ran over to it. She looked up at the branches. It looked like the perfect place to hide. She then hooked her foot on the bark and, with her hands, heaved herself up. She quickly climbed up the tree and onto the lowest branch that she couldn't be seen from below. Katy held onto the branch, squeezing it when seeing the fan girls approach the dark haired girl. From her position, she could hear them talking.

"Hinata, have you seen a red haired girl in red and orange run through here?" Ino asked the girl.

Katy could see the dark haired girl, Hinata, hang her head to stare at the ground. "I-I'm sorry...Ino. I-I haven't."

Ino stamped her foot on the ground. Katy had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. What Ino did was something she thought girls never did and she found it hilarious.

"Are you sure? I thought I saw her run this way."

"Maybe she ran somewhere else," one of the other girls suggested.

Ino scowled. Then she shook her head.

"Maybe. We'll try somewhere else. Sorry to bother you, Hinata," she said to Hinata.

"N-No. I-It's alright."

Ino and her gang left the training field without another word. Katy waited until she was sure that they were gone. When they were, she quietly climbed down. Then she ran at Hinata and hugged her tightly, smiling.

"ThankyouThankyouThankyou! I am in your debt for forever and a day!"

"I-It' alright. Y-You don't n-need t-to repay m-me," she said quietly.

"Are you nuts!?" Katy let go of Hinata, grinning. "You just saved me from an angry mob of fan girls! Of course I need to repay you!" She suddenly gasped. "I'm sorry but I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Katy Rivera. Who are you?"

"H-Hinata H-Hyuuga."

"Nice to meet you, Hinata! So what are you doing here, anyways?"

Hinata stared at the ground. "T-Training."

Katy tilted her head, a curious expression on her face. "Training? Are you a kunoichi?"

She nodded. "I-I'm st-still an A-Academy s-student though. I-I'm not v-very s-strong either."

Katy's lips were pressed together. She forgot that before the Chunin Exams, Hinata didn't believe that she was strong either. Same thing with Sakura. She was suddenly mad that these two girls didn't believe that they could be strong when in the future, they were. Looks like she had to help them, starting with Hinata.

"Aw, come on, Hinata. You can't be that weak!"

Hinata hung her head. "B-But m-my father s-says I-I am. I-I'm the h-heiress o-of th-the clan s-so I-I should b-be strong b-but I'm n-not."

"Who cares about what your father says!" Katy huffed. "A girl like you shouldn't even care about what other people say as long as you can do it! If you're strong, then you're strong. But if you believe that you're weak then you have to try to become strong so that you can be!"

Hinata's head looked up at her. "Y-You d-don't t-think I-I'm w-weak?"

"Hell no! You're actually decent! Out of all the girls that are training to be kunoichis I've seen today, you're the only one trying to keep to your studies! With the other girls, it's always 'clothes this' and 'make up' that!" she imitated the snobby voices of the fan girls. "Ninjas shouldn't even give a damn about their appearance unless it's an undercover mission. But nooo! The girls here have to be conscience of their appearance even if they end up getting dirty. That's mainly why I hate fan girls! They only care about impressing the boy they like with their appearance!"

The Hyuuga heiress blinked in surprise. She didn't expect Katy's rant at all. "Um, thank you?"

Katy beamed brightly. "You're welcome! You know, Hinata, I think you and I are going to be great friends."

Hinata stared at Katy. Did she really want to be her friend? The weak Hyuuga heiress? She couldn't believe it. She smiled and nodded.

"R-Right!"

Katy smiled. She was going to help Hinata in so many things. Her eyes wandered to the sky and she was surprised to see the sun was going down. She better head home soon.

"Sorry Hinata but I have to head home now."

Hinata looked at the sky. "O-Okay. I h-have to h-head home a-as w-well."

"Alright." Katy gave Hinata a quick hug before running out to the exit. She stopped at the trail and turned around, waving a hand in the air. "See you whenever!" Then she ran out of the field.

Katy had no problems heading back to the apartment. She had expected there to be fan girls searching the streets for her. Turns out there weren't. They might have given up some time ago. So Katy was unscathed from her first ever fangirl attack in this new world. She was quite proud of herself. Then she thought of what started the attack in the first place and became pissed.

When Katy arrived at their apartment, she opened the door and slammed it behind her. She didn't care if the neighbors hear her. She was in a bad mood. Once she furiously wretched her shoes off, she stomped her way to the kitchen. She stood at the doorway to find Sasuke sitting at the table with a sandwich in front of him as well as his homework from the Academy. He looked up from his homework and smirked.

"So you made it home alive," he stated.

Katy narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "You bastard! How could you leave me to deal with your fangirls!? I thought we were friends!"

"We are."

"Oh, so you leave me to run all over the village with those barbies chasing me? Great friend you are," she sarcastically said. She walked over to the table and slammed her hands down on the surface. "Did I mention your fangirls are ninjas-in-training? They could have killed me!"

Sasuke shrugged and looked back down at his homework. "Your fault you riled those girls up."

"Well, you could have helped me!"

"Not worth it."

"Why not!?"

"Didn't feel like it."

Katy screamed in frustration. She felt like ripping her friend to shreds right now.

"Go to hell, you teme!"

She turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen.

"Are you going to eat?" he shouted after her.

"I'm not eating the food you bought instead of helping me!" Katy yelled. She stomped to her room and locked it. Then she screamed again and flopped down on her bed.

How could Sasuke do that to her? Sure, he's done somethings like that before back home but this just crossed the line! She could have been killed and all he says was that it wasn't worth helping her? How dare he! She was so going to kill him and get her revenge.

_That teme better watch his back,_ she thought darkly.

She was going to make him pay somehow.

Sasuke would soon wish he didn't mess with her.

---

A/N: Okay, so I decided that I would do all of my Author notes at the bottom instead because having to do it twice is kind of annoying. So there was the chapter. Poor Katy had to run from all of those fangirls. I said I was going to torture Sasuke but that will soon come. So yeah. Thank you everyone for all of your kind reviews! (well, some were kind) You see, I noticed that I do have some typing errors in my chapters but that's mainly because sometimes I mess up the typing letters because I'm rushing to get the chapter up and I don't notice the errors until later on. So I'm just wondering if anyone would like to become a beta reader? To help me check for errors and stuff. If you would like to become my beta reader, please pm me!

That's pretty much it so....

REVIEW!!!!!


	7. Temporary teacher

(A/N: This is a really small thing but this chapter may contain a little sexual stuff. And yaoi. Only a bit! I will warn you when it gets to that part.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 7

Two weeks had passed since that fateful first day. Both kids were busier than they would be back home. Sasuke was busy with his ninja training while Katy was busy with her two jobs. But even if they did have time to hang out, Katy flat out refused to speak to Sasuke. She was still angry about how he just left her like that. She did stay with him when he was training when she found the time but the whole time she was silent.

On the note of Sasuke's training, he wasn't doing very well. He decided that he would work on everything after school so that he could catch up with the class on his own time. A week after that, his progress in ninjutsus and genjutsus were improving. He couldn't say the same for his taijutsu or weapon training. Sasuke learned how to properly hold a kunai and shuriken without cutting himself but his accuracy was a problem. Every time he threw a weapon at a target, it would always miss. He would always get mad then try again. And it was a whole different story with his taijutsu.

Sasuke was struggling with his taijutsu. He could never get his stances right, he had a problem applying chakra to his fist-Hell! He could barely throw a punch! He would always practice and train his taijutsu everyday until it was late at night. Even when his stamina was low, he would push himself to train. Several times, Katy would have to come and drag him home because it was late. Katy would even patch him up from all of his injuries with a stern facial expression on her face.

"Can't believe you...so stupid...going to kill yourself one day...Stupid Uchihas..." she would mutter as she treated Sasuke's injuries. Katy cared about him even though she was pissed at him. All of this extreme training he was doing was worrying her.

One day, it was the last straw for Katy.

She had gone to go check if Sasuke was out training as usual. He wasn't at the apartment even though it was late so she figured he was still out training. When she got to the training grounds, she was shocked to see that Sasuke was sprawled out on the floor. Katy ran to his side immediately. She checked if he was alive and she was relieved when he was. But it was his body that scared her. His arms and legs were covered in bruises. On his face, there were more cuts and even a small burn on his lip. Katy, who was terrified for her friend's condition, quickly dragged him home.

Katy had just finished bandaging him up and lay him on his bed when Sasuke woke up. His eyes were glazed over for a second until he blinked.

"Katy?" he muttered, his voice slightly hoarse.

Katy sighed in relief. Then she glared at him.

"This has got to stop, Sasuke! I just don't approve of the way you're pushing yourself to learn these ninja techniques by yourself! You're going to hurt yourself badly one day and on that day, I might not be able to take care of you without going to the hospital. I don't think you should learn these things by yourself anymore."

Sasuke tired to sit up but he was overcome with pain. His head dropped down to his pillow, his face showing a pained expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"You need help."

Sasuke's gaze turned cold and harsh.

"No."

Katy matched his glare with her own.

"Sasuke, I'm serious. You keep doing this by yourself then you'll never graduate. I know you can understand ninjutsu and genjutsu but you need help on exercising your body to get used to taijutsu and weapons. You need a teacher or something!"

"No."

Sasuke refused to seek out help. Other people asked him for help, not the other way around. He was too proud to ask. That's why he insisted on training himself.

Katy shook her head and sighed.

"Fine. Be that way, Uchiha. But this conversation is not over!"

Then she shut off the lights, walked to her room, and flopped down on her bed. She curled up under the blankets, closing her eyes. Katy was afraid for Sasuke. She knew that he was stubborn and preferred to do things on his own but his training was starting to worry her. He was taking things way too seriously and he was pushing his body past its limit. The guy wasn't even taking precautions! He needed help but he was too proud to ask for it.

Katy sighed and fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

The next day, Sasuke's injuries were still bad from the night before but he still went to school. Katy argued that he had to stay home and rest but he refused to listen. It wasn't like Katy could stop him. Sasuke was stronger than her. So Sasuke covered his wounds with bandages and went to school. Katy left at the same time he did to go to work at the clothing shop.

The entire time during work, Katy was still worrying about Sasuke. She couldn't help it though. Sasuke did do pretty stupid things where his pride took advantage of his choices but this was the worst case of it. She wanted to help him get through his training without killing himself but how? Katy shook her head then went to go help a customer.

Soon enough, Katy's shift at the clothing store ended. She was starting to walk to the dango shop when she remembered that she had the day off that day. She sighed. Now what was she going to do today?

"Hey, Katy!"

Katy turned around to see Anko behind her. Anko was grinning at her but then she took one look at Katy's face and her grin faltered.

"What's with the look?"

Katy frowned. "Anko, remember that guy that you found along with me? He's my best friend and is attending the ninja Academy to study being a shinobi. He's really good at it too but he needs help in his taijutsu. He won't admit he needs help because he's too proud to and he's been training like crazy for two weeks. Last night, I found him unconscious with so many injuries on his body! I'm scared he'll get seriously hurt one day so I told him to get some help but he won't do it! I want to help but I don't know that much on the ninja arts. I don't know what to do!"

Katy finished her explanation, sniffling. She had tears in her eyes and wiped them away. She was that scared about Sasuke's safety.

"So you say your friend sucks at taijutsu and needs help, right?" Anko asked.

She nodded. "And some help on his ninjutsu. I think he tried doing a katon jutsu because his lips were a bit burned."

Anko folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "Then why don't you just get a teacher for him?"

"I can't! Sasuke is too stubborn to ask!"

"Wait, are you talking about the Uchiha kid?"

Katy nodded.

Anko smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Kami! No wonder you're having a problem! Uchihas always have stick up their asses so they're always stubborn to ask for help!" She shook her head and frowned at Katy. "So if he sucks at taijutsu and won't ask, what are you going to do? You need a teacher for the kid and a strict one at that."

"I know," she sighed. Katy had to think of someone who could help him. Gai? Too weird. Kakashi? Can't yet. Kurenai? Don't think so? She went through her mental list of the jonins she knew of but she couldn't think of anyone who could be a perfect teacher for Sasuke for the time being. Who was the only person she didn't think of?

_Dear Kami, I'm stupid,_ Katy thought, mentally smacking herself. There was one person who could possible stand Sasuke.

Katy smiled at Anko, who was staring at her curiously.

"Anko, I have a favor to ask you..."

School finally ended for the day. Sasuke walked out through the Academy entrance, wincing inwardly. His hands hurt like hell right now and his lips felt weird from the burn.

Maybe Katy was right. I need to take it easy.

He was going to head to his usual training field when he spotted Katy. She was swinging on the swing that was held by the tree. She was also humming something. When Sasuke came by the tree, she jumped off the swing and skipped over to him.

"Hi, Sasuke!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I can't visit my friend after school?"

"Not unless there's a reason." Sasuke knew Katy too well. Whenever she asked if she could come over to his house, she always had a reason to do something there.

"Alright, alright. You caught me," Katy laughed. "I actually came by to show you something I found in one of the training fields."

Sasuke was suspicous for a moment. "Like what?"

"You just have to come with me to find out! Now follow me!" Katy started to walk off towards the training grounds. Sasuke was unsure if he should follow her or not. She was still out for revenge, after all. He thought of all the things that Katy could do to him but in the end dismissed all of it. Katy was too innocent to do anything extreme. So not seeing any harm, Sasuke followed her.

Katy led Sasuke straight through town and into the training fields. It was a different one from where Sasuke usually practiced in but it still had the same look. Katy walked over to one of the trees.

"We're here!"

Sasuke glanced around. It looked like there wasn't anything special around."

"Katy, I thought that you had something to show me."

"And she does," said a voice behind him.

Sasuke whirled around to see who spoke. It was Anko who said it. She was standing not too far from him. She was smirking and swining a kunai on her finger.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, coldly He was suspicous of the glint she had in her eyes.

"I asked her to come here," Katy said as she walked over to Anko. She grinned and bowed at the waist. "Thank you so much for doing this, Milady! I can't thank you enough."

"No, no. I don't mind," replied Anko, grinning.

"You brought her here?" Sasuke asked. He was shocked. Why did she do that?

"I did bring her here. She's here to help train you."

"And I'm doing it cause Katy here is my friend and she said she would even call me 'Milady' if I did it," Anko said.

Sasuke folded his arms and gave a cold look at the two but mostly at Katy.

"No."

"But Sasuke-"

"No. I'm not doing it. I don't need her help."

Sasuke saw Anko's hand move. He winced when his cheek gave a short flash of pain. Instinctively, he raised his hand to his cheek and felt a wetness. He stared back at Anko. She was still grinning.

"You have no choice, Uchiha. I'm going to be your temporary sensei for the next four months. Now I want you to run twenty laps around the village. No stopping and you have to keep sprinting."

Sasuke gave her a You-have-to-be-kidding-me look. There was no way he was going to do that.

"Do it or else I'll have to resort to drastic measures."

Anko took out more kunais and Sasuke didn't flinch at the sight. He did move when a kunai landed where his foot was.

"I would run if I were you, Sasuke," Katy said, giggling.

Anko threw another kunai and he dodged it. He turned on his heel and started running as shuriken and kunai rained down o him. Sasuke dodged each one as he ran. He found his energy failing him after awhile and slowed down only to dive to the side when seeing a fireball being hurled at him.

"Keep sprinting, Uchiha!" Anko called from behind him.

Sasuke panted and forced his body to run. He slowed down every now and then to catch his breath but he would start running when a fireball was thrown at him. This cycle continued until it was dark.

"Okay, stop, Uchiha!" Anko said. Sasuke collapsed on the ground, his muscles screaming in relief. She laughed and kneeled next to him. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

He attempted to glare at her but found that he was too tired to do so.

Anko stoo up. "That's all for today, Uchiha. Meet me in the same place at the same time. Otherwise, I'll have to hunt you down. See you tomorrow!"

Then she disappeared.

Sasuke lay on the ground, too tired to move. He regained a bit of his energy and forced his body to stand. Then he began his way home, painfully. Each step he took was painful and he had to use every bit of his remaining strength just to get home. When he got there, the place was dark. He guessed Katy was asleep already. He made his way to his room. There he fell into his bed, asleep on contact.

This was the routine for the next few weeks. Every day after school, Sasuke would reluctantly meet Anko. She would order Sasuke to run around the village and she would follow him to make sure he ran. Sasuke knew this running was to help him build endurance but he hated it. A few times, Anko would help him improve his katon jutsus so he could do it without being burned. Other than that, all they did was run.

Because of the daily training sessions, this didn't leave Katy and Sasuke much time to hang out. Although she was the one who dragged him into this, Sasuke couldn't find himself to be mad at her. She was just trying to help him out the best she could. So he was okay with this. But he couldn't help but feel like this torture with Anko was her revenge on him for leaving her to a horde of his fangirls. It probably was.

One night after his usual training, Sasuke arrived home. The house was dark as usual. Katy always went to bed early these days. He was feeling thirsty and went to go get a glass of water before bed. He walked to the kitchen and turned on the lights. He retrieved a glass and got his water. Once he did that, he was about to leave when he noticed a paper on the table. He walked to it and picked it up. He saw Katy's handwriting on it and started to read what she wrote.

(WARNING! IF YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT LIKE YAOI AT ALL, PLEASE SKIP THE BOLD!!!!! BUT IF YOU DO GO RIGHT AHEAD AND CONTINUE READING!!!!!)

**"Ah, this is the life!" Naruto sighed as he relaxed into the hot spring.**

**The whole day today, Naruto had been training nonstop. By the end of the day, he was tired and wanted to relax somewhere other than at home. On the way home, he found a hidden hot spring near the place he was training. He wondered if the gods answered his prayers and stripped off all of his clothes, jumped in, and started to relax.**

**Naruto settled into the water and sighed in content. A hot spring was just what he needed after endless hours of training. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on the rock behind him. He listened to the silence around him, feeling calm. Although it didn't seem like it, Naruto enjoyed the silence after training with his team. He could actually think about things in peace like whether or not he was going to become stronger and his love for Sasuke.**

**Naruto sighed at the name. He just loved to say that name.**

**Sasuke Uchiha.**

**Rookie of the year, one of the strongest genins in the village, the guy everyone wanted to have, his rival and friend, and the boy he fell in love with.**

**Naruto didn't know he was gay. He thought he was straight and liked Sakura. But that day he accidentally kissed Sasuke, he started to question his own sexuality. He knew that when two people kissed and are in love, they would get a fluttering in their stomach. That was what Naruto felt when he kissed Sasuke. So Naruto accepted the fact that he was gay but decided to pretend to like Sakura so no one would know. If people found out he was gay, everyone would hate him more than they did already, especially Sasuke.**

**To be honest, he didn't even know when he fell in love with the Uchiha. He guessed that it was when Sasuke took the hit from Haku during the Land of Waves mission. Naruto shivered at the memory. He hated to remember how he thought Sasuke was actually dead. When he saw how Sasuke looked like he died, he had felt like his heart was breaking and he went beserk. And when he saw that he was okay, he felt so relieved. After that whole mission, he started to feel weird around Sasuke to the point where he would blush when Sasuke looked at him with those hypnotizing onyx eyes.**

**Naruto blushed but it wasn't from the hot spring. He loved to stare into those eyes. He wished he could look into them all day long. And god, that body! (A/N: I'm gagging as I type this and this next part.) It was as if God took more time to sculpt him into perfection. He wondered if he looked great lower...**

**Naruto stopped and shook his head. He couldn't think about Sasuke like that! He might look great and so tempting to think about but he couldn't think like that. If Sasuke found out he was thinking about him that way then he would never speak to him again.**

**Like he would think about me like that anyway, Naruto thought sadly. Sasuke didn't even know he was in love with him. Sometimes, he wished that he could tell him how he felt about him but couldn't. He wouldn't even think about confessing. Sasuke was as straight as a line. Even if he really was gay, he would never like him. After all, the two acted like they hated each other. If Naruto confessed then Sasuke would probably reject him and hate him like everyone else. He didn't want that to happen. He felt that Sasuke's friendship with him made him feel like a real person and not just Kyuubi's container. He valued that more than his love so he decided to keep quiet.**

**"Dobe?"**

**Naruto jumped and shot his head up. His blue eyes landed at Sasuke who was standing at the edge of the water. Naruto blushed when his onyx eyes stared at him and thanked Kami that the heat of the spring covered his blush.**

**"Shouldn't you have gone home?" Sasuke asked.**

**"Shouldn't you? What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" Naruto shot back, glaring at the Uchiha. He hated to do this but he had to.**

**"Hn."**

**Sasuke's eyes wandered downward and Naruto blushed again.**

**"T-Turn around, teme! I'm getting out!"**

**Sasuke took one more look at him and turned his head away. Naruto scrambled out of the water and hastily pulled on his boxers and pants. Sasuke turned his head back as Naruto grabbed his black shirt and orange jacket. His eyes scanned him again, making Naruto blush even redder than necessary.**

**"I-I'm going home now! Later, teme!" he stammered. He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. He was entirely embarrassed that Sasuke found him naked in a hot spring just when he was thinking about him.**

**Naruto turned around and started to leave when he felt someone wrap their arms around him from behind. He turned his head but stopped. He gasped when feeling someone nibbling his ear.**

**"Wh-What the hell!?" Naruto exclaimed. He shut his eyes and moaned when feeling something wet near his ear.**

**"God, dobe. You have no idea how fuckable you look right not," Sasuke huskily said, his hot breath tickling Naruto's ear. Naruto shivered.**

**"S-Sasuke...wh-what are you-" Naruto moaned again as the Uchiha licked his neck. Naruto could feel his face heating up. Sasuke was here behind him saying how fuckable he looked. This had to be a dream. He gasped and his eyes flew open when feeling Sasuke's hand move downwards. The hand moved its way to his pants and snaked its way inside, past the boxers. He moaned again when a cool hand brushed against his-**

Sasuke stopped reading, his eye twitching. This was one of the things he hate about the world of fandom. Katy had written a one-shot. A smutty one-shot. A smutty one-shot on him and Naruto! He knew that Katy wrote every now and then. He also knew she was an on and off yaoi fangirl to the pairing SasuNaru. Usually, Sasuke wouldn't mind that she wrote one-shots on the pairing because he found it hilarious that two rivals were paired up. But now that he found out he was Sasuke Uchiha, he just found it sick. How could people pair him up with such an idiot? They might have been best friends/rivals but that didn't give people the right to pair him up! And with a guy, no less! If it was a girl like Sakura, he wouldn't mind but with a guy?!

Sasuke growled and glared at the piece of paper like it was the devil. No way in hell was he going to tolerate Katy's obsession with that pairing. He wished he could just burn all evidence of that pairing. He suddenly smirked. He knew how he was going to handle this. It was perfect! But it would have to wait until tomorrow. Sasuke walked back to his room, smirking, and went to bed.

The next morning, Katy found Sasuke in the kitchen finishing his breakfast. She was surprised to find that Sasuke had gotten up on his own. She always had to wake him up. She was starting to get suspicious when he smirked at her.

"Morning," he greeted.

Katy sat at the table, blinking.

"Okay, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, still smirking. He had his hands in his pockets and he was creeping her out.

"You're scaring me, Sasuke. Who died?"

"No one did. I'm just excited to show you something."

"Like what?"

He chuckled.

"Finish breakfast and you'll see."

Katy was still creeped out but nibbled on her toast. She wondered what Sasuke was going to show her. She soon finished her breakfast and placed her plate in the sink. She walked into the living room and found Sasuke by the door. He already had his shoes on and was waiting for her. But she couldn't help but notice he had a small bag with him.

"What's in the bag?"

"Hn."

Sasuke walked out the door. Katy quickly put on her shoes and followed him. They walked past town and into an empty training field. Sasuke walked a fari distance away and placed the bag on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Katy asked. "And what's in the bag?"

"In this bag is all of your things on SasuNaru," he said.

Katy gasped. "You lie!"

Sasuke bended down and opened the bag. He picked through it and took out a paper. On it was a drawing of Sasuke licking chocolate off of Naruto's cheek. He scowled at it and put it back in the bag.

"What are you doing with those? Wait, you went through my stuff!?"

Katy was mad. How dare he invaded her private stuff!

Sasuke ignored her and walked two feet away from the bag. He glared at it as he started performing hand seals. Katy realized what he was doing.

"No, Sasuke, don't!"

She made a run to get her bag before he finished but it was too late. Sasuke performed the last hand seal and took a deep breath. His right hand's index finger and thumb pinched together to form a circle.

"Fire Style: Fire ball jutsu!"

Sasuke exhaled. Flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth and shot through the circle his fingers made. The flames shot at the bag and was immediately engulfed in it. Katy could only watch in horror. The jutsu ended and the flames cleared to reveal the ground was scroched. Where the bag was, there was nothing.

"Sasuke, how could you do that?!" Katy screeched at him. "That was my stuff!"

He shrugged. "I saw that one-shot. No SasuNaru from now on."

Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked out of the field, heading to school.

Katy stood where she was, staring at where the bag used to be. That was her stuff. Her private property. How could Sasuke burn it like that? And how could he ban SasuNaru? She loved that pairing in the yaoi section! It was a really cute couple. She didn't know that it would affect Sasuke that much. She suddenly grinned.

_At least he doesn't know about my ItaSasu stuff._

---

A/N: Um, yeah. So there's the chapter. Um...about that part with the one-shot, all I could say is that I will never do that again as long as I live. I have no idea what provoked me to even write that-that thing! I never thought I could write a yaoi fic even the beginnings of a-a lemon one-shot! Yes! I admit! It was the beginning of a lemon fic and I have no idea what made me write that! I think it might've been that day I got curious. You see, I was looking at a summary for a SasuNaru fic so I was like 'I always see these yet I've never read them.' Then I started thinking about SasuSaku doushiji (those are really cute!). Then that led to me wondering what a SasuNaru doushinji would be like. Then I got really curious so I looked it up on Google. I took a look at one and it started out okay. I was thinking 'Wow! I thought it would be really horrible! But this seems okay!' And then it got to the part where Sasuke and Naruto start...yeah. It was horrible! I clicked out of there quickly but the damage had already been done! I remembered a picture of when they were kissing and it wouldn't leave me alone! So to get it all out, I ended up writing that. Just so you know, I was blushing the whole time too. I still can't believe I wrote that! I should mention I am the most innocent person among my friends. They curse words out loud while I write them but won't say them out loud. When it comes to things like sex, I start blushing like crazy and when they say a weird, I start giggling because its so weird that they said it out loud. So me writing this, I was blushing.

And I'm never doing it again. Why? Because I felt dirty while writing it!

And just so you know, Katy is a yaoi fangirl but only to those two pairings. The rest is dedicated to the normal pairings (SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, SaiIno, and ShikaTema). Those pairings outrule the yaoi so its only occassionally she will be a fangirl of SasuNaru.

Now that I've explained that....

REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	8. Missing her and fights

Disclaimer: Do we have to go through this every time? I don't own Naruto!

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 8

Those remaining three months passed by quickly for both Katy and Sasuke. They each had been doing their own things and were so busy that they didn't realize that the genin exam was so close until Anko reminded Sasuke.

"Alright, Uchiha," said Anko after one day of training. "As you know, it has been three months since I've been training you."

_It has?_ Sasuke didn't really pay attention to the time and dates. All he cared about was improving his techniques.

"And you know that I'm supposed to train you until the Genin exams. Now that the exam is tomorrow, today was the final day I can trained you." Anko grinned. "It's been fun training you, Uchiha. I'm glad that I took Katy's favor. After today, I won't be seeing you as much anymore but who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again soon." She winked at him. "I'll be counting the days until I tort-I mean, see you again! Later!"

Then she disappeared.

Sasuke stood up and started to walk home. Although he didn't seem like it, he was cheering inside of his head. It was finally over! His torture training with Anko was finally over with! He didn't have to see that sadist for another few months! Sasuke was so relieved. He hated training with Anko. She always tortured him in some way or another. Once, she made him jump through a row of ring of fires then made him swing over a pond filled with blood thirsty crocodiles. He wondered where she got the crocodiles though. They were in a village surrounded by miles of forests! How could she get crocodiles? To say the least, that woman was evil!

But Sasuke had to admit, her training did help him. Before, he could barely throw a punch or do a jutsu without tiring himself. Now he could actually do taijutsu and have enough chakra to perform more than one jutsu. He surprised himself when he did the fireball jutsu and it shot out of his mouth huge. He nearly roasted Anko once. He thought she would kill him after that but she simply grinned and said good job. Anko might have been sadistic but her methods of training were useful.

Sasuke arrived at home earlier than usual. Katy was still at work and he didn't need to prepare dinner yet so he had nothing to do. He thought about reviewing for the exam tomorrow but decided not to. He already knew the material by heart. He wondered what he could do until he decided to go through his stuff.

In his room, Sasuke scattered the contents of his backpack onto to bed. Ever since they had arrived in this world five months ago, not once had he touched his stuff from the other dimension. He was simply too busy training that he forgot all about it. Now that he had time, he decided to look through it. Not that there was much there in the first place. He had his notebooks and textbooks from school there as well as some writing utensils. He couldn't care less about that stuff. What was he going to use Algebra for in the world of ninjas? (A/N: Seriously. You can't use Algebra in real life!) He should really throw that stuff away. There was only a few things in there that he considered important. Some of them happened to be the Naruto manga books that he had brought with him to school that day. He would have to hide those in case anyone broke into their apartment-which wasn't very likely. If those books fell in the wrong hands, they were in trouble. The other item he considered important was a picture of his foster mother.

Sasuke leafed through the first volume of the manga until he found a photo, used as a bookmark, in the middle. He took it out and smiled at the picture. It was of him and his mom at a street carnival. He was smiling at the camera while his mom hugged him around the waist, her mouth open in laughter. Behind them was the tall and colorful Ferris wheel. Sasuke smiled at the memory of the day. He had practically whined and begged his mom to take him to the carnival. In the end, she agreed. They ended up having so much fun.

Sasuke's smile faded at the thought of his foster mother. He missed her so much. For the past few months, he had been so busy with training that he completely forgot about her! Now that it was the day before the exams, he realized how much he missed her. After all, she was the woman who took him in when he was alone, lost, and had no memory except for his name. When Sasuke first met her in an alley, where he was cowering at everything, he was so afraid of her. He thought she would hurt him! But when she offered him a gentle hand and said kindly, "My name is Mari Hailton. What is yours, little one?" Sasuke told her his name and she giggled. "That's a cute name you have, Sasuke!" she said. "Would you like to come with me so that you're not in this alley anymore?" At that moment, Sasuke grew very close to her.

_I wonder how she's doing..._he couldn't help but wonder. It has been five months since he and Katy disappeared. Their mothers must have been missing them like crazy. Especially Mari. Mari didn't have children of her own no matter how much she wanted one. She didn't want to get married since she was always shy around most men. Sasuke had to tell the men who came up to her and started flirty with her to back off since Mari was too shy to say so. So when Mari found Sasuke, she adopted him even though she was single. She loved him like he was her own son! She must have been devastated when hearing that he just disappeared. He hated that he was hurting one of his important people.

Sasuke sighed then put the picture back in the book. Then he went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

--

The next day, Katy waited outside of the Academy entrance with the rest of the parents. They were all waiting for the students to come out with a hitai-ate tied around their forehead. Katy was there so that she could congratulate her friend. She had begged her dango shop boss, Tsubaki, for the night off so that she and Sasuke could celebrate. Her boss gave in at the end and now she and Sasuke could do whatever that night.

The students finally came out through the Academy doors. Most of them were sporting the village hitai-ate now and the parents started congratulating their children. Katy scanned among the kids, looking for Sasuke until she saw him just exiting through the doors.

"Sasuke-kun!!!" Katy pushed past through the crowd and glomped her friend. He caught her before they both fell to the ground. She looked up at his forehead which was covered by the cloth of his hitai-ate. "Congratulations! I can't believe you passed!"

"You sound like you thought that I would fail," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

Katy grinned and let go of him. "I did actually. You've only been in school for five months and yet you passed. I'm so proud of you, Sasuke-kun!" She grabbed his hand and started to walk. "I'll make your favorite tonight. Spaghetti with lots of tomato sauce, right?"

Sasuke nodded like he didn't care but he was cheering on the inside. He hadn't had that dish in months!

The two started to exit the Academy grounds but they heard some of the parents whispering.

"Hey, isn't that the Uchiha kid?" One woman asked.

"Yeah. I heard he came back a few months ago," another replied.

"Really? And he was able to pass in those few months? The Uchiha clan truly is full of prodigies."

"He even made Rookie of the Year too! The boy's practically a genius!"

"Too bad about his clan though. He was the only one left alive."

"I feel so sorry for him."

"Me too."

Sasuke's grip on Katy's hand tightened. Katy frowned at the adults and shook her head.

"Ignore them, Sasuke-kun. It isn't worth is," she whispered to him.

Sasuke couldn't just ignore it. He was smart, sure, but did they need to remind him that he was one of the last of his clan? It was bad enough that he found out he was an Uchiha a few months ago! Now that he was Sasuke Uchiha, he had to kill Orochimaru, and had to do something about the Akatsuki! On top of that, he had to 'resurrect the clan' as his character so mildly put it. He sighed, loosening his grip, and walked home with Katy.

Once at home, Katy started making dinner. Sasuke tried to help but Katy slapped his hand away, saying she would cook. So Sasuke sat in the living room, reading one of the Shippuden books.

"Sasuke, time to eat!" Katy called from the kitchen.

Sasuke put down the book and went into the kitchen. His eyes lit up at the sight of the pasta and sat down. Katy laughed at his eagerness to eat.

"You must have really missed spaghetti, huh?" she said, sitting across from him.

"Hn." He really did miss it. Sasuke finished putting the noodles on his plate when he realized something. "How are we going to eat this with chopsticks?"

Katy frowned, realizing this as well. She tapped her chin with her finger in thought. Then she smiled and stood up to leave the room. Sasuke wondered what she was doing when she came back holding up two plastic forks.

"Ta-da! Problem solved!"

She handed one to Sasuke. He stared at it skeptically. Before Katy dug in, she stared at him.

"What's wrong?"

"...You washed this, right?"

Katy scowled.

"Of course! I just did!

"Just checking."

Sasuke began eating and Katy followed. The two ate in silence as usual. Katy's eyes kept flickering at Sasuke and she put her fork down.

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"You're still going to kill Orochimaru, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I just realized something."

"Like?"

"I know that you're going to avoid being bitten to recieve the curse mark, right?" He nodded. "Well, what's going to happen after?"

Sasuke was confused but realized what she meant. She was asking what was going to happen instead of Sakura protecting them in the second exam. Honestly, he had been thinking about that sometimes but he didn't know. What was going to happen?"

"By your expression, you don't know." Katy sighed. "Before we think about that, we should think about how you're going to avoid getting bitten. Any ideas?"

Sasuke thought about this too and like before, he didn't.

Katy gave him an incredulous look.

"Please tell me you have something."

"Hn."

"Sasssuuukkkeee! You're going against an evil, sadistic snake lord who kills the Hokage and you don't have a clue?!" she whined. By the lack of speaking on the Uchiha's part, he didn't. "You're going to be seriously screwed."

"I'll figure something out when the time comes," Sasuke growled. He stood up, taking his plate with him, put it in the sink, and left the room.

Katy stared at the retreating back of the boy. "Damn. All I asked was that he have some back up plan. But I guess it's too early to know what's going to happen." She sighed, stood up and put her plate in the sink.

_Though I can't help but wonder how he's going to do against Kakashi in the bell test?_

---

A few days passed until it finally reached the date where the genins would get put into teams. Katy could hardly wait for this day while Sasuke just wished it would pass already. He didn't want to go through this at all. It was boring and lame since he already knew who was going to be put in which team and which sensei they would have. He already knew he was going to be in a team with the Kyuubi container, a fangirl, and a perverted man who weilded the Sharingan so what else should he know? Nothing, that's what.

On the morning of the meeting day, Sasuke and Katy left the apartment at the usual time. Sasuke left with a sour look on his face because of what Katy did to his clothes. She had basically turned it into what he would normally wear in the series. The Uchiha fan was sewn on the back of his blue shirt and she forced him into wearing those baggy arm warmers with the buckles on the front. He already wore those opened toe ninja sandals since Anko destroyed his converse. Sasuke didn't want to wear all of these things (except for the sandals. He had to admit they were comfortable) but Katy had threatened him to with a knife in her hand.

"Bye, Sasuke! Have fun!" Katy was goodbye as Sasuke headed the other way. He raised his hand up in goodbye and walked off. Katy smiled and started to walk to work. For some reason, she was in a really good mood today. Maybe it was because the Naruto series was finally starting. Yeah, it had to be that.

_And I also get to meet Kakashi if I stick with Sasuke!_ her inner fangirl squealed. _And Itachi if I can!_

Katy giggled and was about to run when she noticed a familiar girl walking not to far from her. "Hey, Hinata-chan!" She ran over to the Hyuuga girl.

"Hello, Katy-san" Hinata greeted with a smile. Over the few short months that the two girls had known each other for, Katy had been able to get the shy girl out of her shell whenever she was around her. With other people, Hinata was still shy but Katy was working on that. And as it turns out, she and Hinata hung out like regular girls-which shocked Katy- if they ever found the time to do so. Sometimes when Hinata was down about her father calling her weak, Katy would tell her to never give up and even volunteered to help with her training in some way. It was only with the Byagukan though. Katy would run and hide while Hinata used her kekke genkai to locate her. If she found Katy then the girl would congratulate her before doing it again. Katy and Hinata were like best friends.

"Are you going to the Academy now?" Katy asked.

Hinata nodded. "Yes. We're going to be assigned into teams today. I'm a little nervous, though."

"Why?" she asked again, confusion in her voice. Then she grinned like a cheshire cat. "Is it because you want to be on Naruto's team?"

Hinata blushed a deep red. A month after knowing each other, Katy asked if she liked anyone in the village. She told her she had a crush on Naruto Uzumaki. Katy already knew this but acted like she was shocked. Ever since then, Katy had silently been coming up with ways to get the two together but couldn't since the blond didn't know her yet.

"So that's it, huh?" Katy giggled. "Don't worry, Hina-chan. If you get on his team then congrats! But if you don't, try to get stronger so that he'll notice you okay?"

Hinata nodded, feeling better. Looking down at her watch (don't know if she has one), she gasped. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" Hinata was about to leave when Katy stopped her. "Ano...what's wrong?"

"Hinata-chan?" Katy was suddenly grinning, her eyes practically lit up. "Can you do something for me?"

---

Sasuke arrived at the Academy earlier than usual. He wanted to get there before the fangirls arrived to tell him to sit with them. Entering the classroom, he found some people there already but none of them turned when he entered. Taking this chance, he went to sit at the spot he would sit in the manga. He then went into his usual thinking pose, blanking out.

Sasuke didn't really think when he went into his thinking pose. Not today actually. Instead, his mind went blank as he stared into space. He wasn't looking and his mind was clear of thoughts but he was somewhat aware of his surroundings. He knew the room was starting to fill up as time passed and most of the girls were now staring at him but he didn't care. He was so blanked out that when he heard his name, he blinked and dully said, "What?"

"Can I sit there?" Sakura asked, pushing past Naruto. He didn't answer her so she seated herself next to him.

Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes as Sakura giggled and continued to stare at him. He was really hating the fangirl phase Sakura was in and couldn't wait until she got over it. (don't we all?)

A couple minutes later, he heard a growl and saw Naruto now crouching in front of him on his desk. Naruto's blue eyes were slitted, glaring at him. Sasuke replied with a cold glare of his own.

"Naruto, you idiot! Get out of Sasuke-kun's face!" Sakura and a few other girls screeched.

The boys continued to glare at each other with such menace. Sasuke thought all of this was vaguely familiar but he could only think of how Naruto was pissing him off with his glare.

Suddenly, he saw the boy in the desk below him lean back, his elbow hitting Naruto in the back. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized Naruto lost his balance and was falling towards him. He tried to lean back before the blond fell forward but it was too late. The blond's lips met his own in a closed mouth kiss. Both boys' eyes were wide with shock and most of the girls gasped.

Nearby, Hinata had seen that Naruto was kissing Sasuke accidentally. Her eyes widened, shocked as well. She wanted to be his first kiss, not Sasuke! She felt like crying and wanted to hurt Sasuke when she remembered what Katy asked her to do.

_"Can you take a picture of something that might happen to Sasuke today?" Katy asked Hinata, handing her an old fashioned camera that made the photo quickly._

_"Ano, why?" Hinata asked._

_"I have this feeling that something will happen to Sasuke today." As she said this, she grinned like she knew something Hinata didn't. "Please?"_

_Hinata looked at the camera in her hands. Katy was her friend and she only wanted to see how Sasuke was faring so it couldn't help to try, right? "O-Okay." (Hinata knows about Sasuke already)_

Remembering this, Hinata took the camera out. She guessed that Katy would find this hilarious to see her friend's first kiss was with a boy. Making sure the flash was off, she aimed the camera at the two boys and took the picture quickly before the two pulled apart, gagging and holding their throats. Hinata quickly put away the camera and the picture before anyone saw and sat down.

Sasuke gagged and spit, trying to rid his mouth of any Naruto's germs. "You idiot! I'm going to kill you!"

He continued to gag and spit until he was sure the germs out of the idiot were out of his mouth. Sasuke went back to his usual pose, glaring at Naruto through the corners of his eyes as said blond was being killed by most of his fangirls. He was pissed. How could he forget about that stupid accidental kiss? It happened in the very beginning! And now because of his single mindedness, he lost his first kiss, and to a guy, no less! He had to be careful next time.

Iruka entered the classroom and everyone took their seats. When he saw that everyone was silent, he started to explain that from now on they were fully fledged shinobis and would be startin out at the lowest rank: Genin. Sasuke didn't really pay attention to the speech. After reading Naruto hundreds of times as well as the beginning part of the anime, he knew this speech by heart. He saw no need to pay attention to this man. Zoning out, he warily listened as Iruka stared to list the teams.

"And for Team 7," Iruka annoucned, snapping Sasuke back to attention. "Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

"What!?" Naruto stood to his feet, outraged. "Iruka-sensei, why are you saddling a fine shinobi like me with that loser!?"

Iruka sighed. "Out of the twenty-seven of you, Sasuke has the best grades out of the class even though he has only been here for a few months while you were at the bottom," he explained. "We had to balance it out."

With that said, Sasuke replied to Naruto, "Don't drag me down, Dobe."

"Stop calling me that!"

Sasuke sighed mentally, and ignored the two people next to him. He couldn't stand them even if they were okay at times.

This was going to be a long day.

---

A little while later, Sasuke was leaning against the edge of a counter of a room behind him, munchin on a rice ball. They were having a break so he took this time to mentally prepare himself. In a few hours, he was going to meet one of his favorite characters in the series, Kakashi. He was pretty cool for a perverted guy. What wasn't awesome about him? The jonin was known as the Copy cat ninja Kakashi and Sharingan Kakashi. he knew hundreds of jutsus and was basically a genius! Not to mention he would be the one to teach him the Chidori if he played his cards right.

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. _Katy's going to be so jealous that I met Kakashi before she did._

His smirking ended when he suddenly saw a rope catching him around the chest and found himself in the back room.

"What the-"Sasuke saw blond hair and blue eyes and narrowed his eyes, struggling against hasty hands. "Naruto, get off!"

"Shh! Keep it down!" Naruto was holding Sasuke down with one of his hands and used the other to reach for a rope. Sasuke took this chance to free one of his hands, using one to grab the hand that held him and flip Naruto off of him. In shock, Naruto hit the ground lying on his back and Sasuke quickly pinned him down before he got up. Using the rope, he tied Naruto's hands together. Sasuke smirked at his handiwork. It vanished when there was a puff of smoke and a log took Naruto's place.

Damn it! He used that damn evil log! Sasuke mentally growled. (A/N: I remembered the line Sasuke said in Naruto Abridged ep. 2. I couldn't help but put it in!) Before he could turn around, he once again met the floor, the blond pinning him again. This time, though, he quickly tied his hands together and slapped tape onto Sasuke's mouth.

"Gotcha!" Naruto snickered and Sasuke glared up at him. he was caught off guard by that stupid blond. How did that happen? Naruto performed a hand sign and his body was veiled in smoke. The smoke shortly vanished and Sasuke found himself staring at a mirror image of himself. With a smirk, he look-a-like hopped out of the room, leaving him.

God damnit! I can't believe I fell for that! Sasuke struggled against the ropes that tied his hands and held him captive. How could he have been so careless to forget that Naruto jumps him during the break? He was so stupid today. How was he going to kill Orochimaru if he was like this? He frowned. He had to do better in the future.

Sasuke sighed, reaching for the small knife he so easily hid in one of his arm warmers. There was one good thing about the arm warmers. He could hid knifes in them. (Got the idea off of Assassin's Creed) Using the knife, he sawed through the ropes and they easily fell. Sasuke sat up and took off the top off of his mouth while rubbing his wrists. He growled.

"I'm going to kill that idiot when I find him."

Sasuke stood to his feet and exited the small shack place. he had to walk on the pathway with the bench to get back to the Academy so he took it only to find Sakura sitting on the bench. When he came into view, Sakura jumped to her feet eagerly, smiling.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! Did you summon up your courage? I'm ready and waiting!" she said excitedly. Sasuke only ignored her and started to walk past her. He wondered what Sakura was talking about until he remembered that Naruto made up a plan to kiss Sakura as him.

"Where the hell is that idiot, Naruto?" Sasuke growled to himself. He was so going to kill that blond ninja. Very. Very. Slowly.

"You're changing the subject again!" Sakura said, smiling nervously. "Can't we get away from Naruto for just one second?! He always comes between us! It's because he was raised up badly!"

Sasuke had started to walk away from Sakura but stopped at that last sentence. He slightly turned to her. "You mean because he never had any parents?"

She nodded. "He doesn't have to answer to anyone ever and it's made him completely selfish! If I did the kinds of things he gets away with, my parents would ground me for life! Don't you envy him being alone, not having parents to nag at you? Kids with no families grow up selfish."

Sasuke clenched his fists and glared at Sakura. How could she even say those things about Naruto? Naruto was not selfish. Sure, the blond idiot was annoying and got on his nerves all the time but he was only like that because he wanted to be acknowledged and loved. He lived his life without anyone to support him or say "I love you!" to him. Sasuke felt so much empathy to Naruto.

When he was found by Mari, he always wondered who could possibly be his real parents? Were they lost? Did they lose him? When would they come back for him? Did they miss him like he did to them? He always wondered these kinds of questions when he was seven and hoped he could meet them one day. But as time passed and still no signs of his parents, Sasuke gave up hope when he was ten and only saw Mari as his real parent. At least she loved him and cared for him.

But now that he was away from Mari against his will, he missed her. He didn't care if she always nagged him to smile more around strangers. He loved her! How could Sakura even envy Naruto? He was lonely! Both boys wanted to know love and acceptance and she chose to throw that away so that she could do whatever she wanted?

Sasuke glared at Sakura at his second worst. The girl flinched. "You'd rather be lonely than be scolded by your parents? You make me sick." He then walked away from Sakura and started towards the Academy.

As he did so, Sasuke couldn't help but feel weird again. It was like the last time he had rejected Sakura when they first met but this time it was worst.

_What is this feeling?_ Sasuke asked himself._ It happens every time I'm mean to Sakura. What could it be? I'll have to ask Katy about this later._

Sasuke left towards the classroom, the feeling still with him and controlling his thoughts about how mean he was towards a certain pink haired girl.

---

A/N: So there's the chapter! I know I haven't updated in like forever but I'm busy trying to raise up my grades. Currently, I'm in danger of failing Algebra 1 and Earth Science. I don't want to repeat these courses when I transfer schools so in these last few weeks before summer, I'm trying really hard to raise them up. Algebra 1 I have no problem with since I have this major project that could save my grade but I have to teach my class. :( I suck at teaching. I always stutter. And Earth Science could be a challenge since that class is so boring! From the beginning of the year, we've been doing the same thing every week. See a preview of the chapter, have a lecture the next day, then do questions the next, then a video the next and finally a test on Friday. It gets a bit boring when you do that for every week in a school year. That's why most of my class is failing.

Bleh. Just thinking about Earth Science made me all upset. I gotta go do homework or something so Review please! With the amount of people alerting this story, you'd think that people would at least review on how I'm doing with the story writing and all!

-twilit angel


	9. The bell test revision

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 9

Two hours had passed since the three genin waited in the classroom. All the other jonin teachers had already retrieved their assigned genin teams. Team 7 was the only team still waiting for their sensei.

Sasuke sat at the desk, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as Naruto and Sakura complained about being the only team to not meet their teacher yet. Frankly, the two were getting on his nerves. They were so loud and annoying! He would rather have Katy there than these two.

_No, wait. Scratch that. Katy would only be worse._ That girl was more annoying than his two teammates combined! And that was saying something.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura demanded, watching Naruto place an eraser on top of the door as he stood on a chair.

"This is punishment for making us wait!" Naruto snickered. This time, Sasuke did roll his eyes.

Oh great! He's playing that stupid prank, he thought dryly. Kakashi was so stupid to get hit with the eraser, even if he knew about it. I'm not even going to comment how stupid Naruto is.

He didn't have to since Sakura said, "You idiot! He won't fall for that!"

At that moment, the door slid open and a man with silver hair that was lazily spiked upt to the side of his head and a mask covering his lower half of his face poked his head through. The eraser that was strategically placed about his head fell done on his head but he did not flinch. Naruto laughed how his prank worked while Sakura apologized to him.

The man merely smiled (as far as Sasuke could tell). "My impression of you three is that I hate you!"

Sasuke mentally sighed. Why did he have Kakashi as his sensei again?

"Follow me to the roof," Kakashi ordered. Without another word, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the kids to walk to the roof.

Wordlessly, the three walked their way up to the roof. When they got there, Kakashi was leaning against the railing. They sat in front of him, waiting for him to speak.

"Before we begin, why don't we get to know each other first?" Kakashi suggested.

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked.

"You know, you tell me who you are, what you like and dislike, that kind of stuff."

"Why don't you show us how to do it, sensei?"

"Alright. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'm not the kind of person who tells people what I like and dislike," he told them. "I don't really want to tell you my dreams and I have many hobbies. That's it.

"All we learned was his name!" Naruto whispered over to Sakura. Sasuke knew more than his teammates about their sensei, even if their sensei himself didn't know it. But he didn't feel like telling them all about him so he kept his mouth shut as usual.

"Now let's get started. The blond boy can go first," Kakashi said, pointing to Naruto

Naruto grinned widely. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki! I like all kinds of ramen and when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen. I don't like waiting three minutes to wait for my ramen. My dream is to become Hokage someday so that everyone can acknowledge me! I guess my hobbies are pulling pranks.

_Oh. My. God. I have to deal with another ramen freak!_ Sasuke thought in his head. Katy was bad enough but with Naruto? It was going to be worse. He snapped out of it when Kakashi told him to introduce himself.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," he started. "I have few likes and I dislike almost everything. My dream is more of an ambition. I plan to resurrect my clan," Here, Sasuke was gagging on the inside, "and I plan to kill a certain man. I have no hobbies."

Sasuke felt slight bad. He mostly ripped off what his character said in the series but he couldn't think of what to say. There was no way he was going to tell his likes and dislikes in front of his fan girl since she would use it to her advantage to ask him out on a date. And what was the harm of being all mysterious like Kakashi? Even though he knew Sakura and Naruto for about five months, they didn't know him like Katy did. And not that he mentioned it, would his team find out about her? He wasn't sure if the Hokage told Kakashi that he lived with her but Sakura and Naruto didn't know about her yet. Sasuke planned to keep it that way.

"Enough. Now that that's done, we can move on," Kakashi was saying. Sasuke was so spaced out that he didn't even hear Sakura's introduction.

"Alright! What are we doing, Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto excitedly asked.

"Tomorrow, we are going to be doing some surviving training."

Sasuke shuddered but no one seemed to notice. He was starting to remember all of the survival training he did with Anko. Anko thought that it was vital for Sasuke to learn about this stuff so several times she would sic a giant snake on him. He had to fight against the snake and hold on his own until Anko ordered the snake to stop, which would be hours later. Sasuke thanked God that Kakashi's survival training would be different.

"But we did this kind of stuff all the time in the Academy," Sakura mentioned.

"This is a different sort of survival training. You three will be facing off against me," Kakashi explained. Sasuke tuned out his voice easily. He already knew this stuff since he watched and read this part hundreds of times before. He could practically recite this to them if he wanted to.

Sasuke was wondering when Kakashi would be done. This was taking forever. Naruto asked Kakashi why he was laughing. Then the jonin's expression became serious as he explained that out of the twenty-seven who graduated from the Academy, only nine would pass since the test they were about to take had a sixty-six percent chance of failure. Sasuke wasn't fazed by this. He knew they would pass.

"Meet me at the training grounds at six a.m. sharp. You may bring all the equipment you like and be prepared. Oh, and also don't eat breakfast. You might throw up," Kakashi finished and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke stood to his feet and said, "Eat breakfast. You'll thank me later."

Sakura was in shock while Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. Sasuke ignored him and exited the building.

Sasuke didn't know why he told them that they should eat breakfast. After what happened with Naruto that day, he would have let the boy suffer. But a voice in the back of his mind told he should tell them since they are his teammates. He didn't really care if they would listen to him. It was their loss if they were going to be starving the whole time.

_Well, it's not my problem,_ Sasuke thought as he headed home.

At home, Sasuke prepared dinner since it was his turn to cook. He decided to have macaroni and chess for dinner tonight (look, don't ask me. I don't know that many Japanese dishes). By the time he was done, Katy arrived home just as he set the food on the table.

"Hey Sasuke!" Katy greeted. She sat down at the table and gave thanks with Sasuke. The two began to eat. "So how was your day?"

"Fine," he dully replied.

Katy raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke, give me some kind of idea on what you did today! Didn't you meet your team today?"

"Yeah but you already know how my day went since you watched this millions of times before."

"Didn't you change anything or did it go like the series."

"Series," Sasuke muttered.

The two fell silent. Katy sat there, blinking while Sasuke picked at his dinner. He didn't want to take a bite until he saw her reaction was over. A few more minutes passed. Katy's lips twitched upward as she burst out laughing.

"Haha! You lost your first kiss to Naruto, didn't you?"

Sasuke felt his ears heat up. He glared at her which only made her laugh harder.

"M-Mari will just love to know you lost your first kiss to a boy when we get home!"

"You dare tell her and I swear…"Sasuke trailed off. He was starting to remember what had happened with Sakura that day and that feeling came back. "Hey, Katy?"

Katy had just finished her laughing fit and stared at her friend. "Yes?"

"Did you ever…feel weird after you've said something mean to someone?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke picked at his dinner, staring at it to avoid eye contact. "Well…Remember how in the series, I said 'You make me sick' to Sakura today?" She nodded. "After I said that, I started to get this weird feeling every time I thought about it and it gets worse. Do you know what it is?"

Katy stared at Sasuke as if he were stupid. "Sasuke…Don't tell me you didn't feel guilty, did you?" she asked.

He looked up at her, this time a question in his eyes.

"Guilty? What do you mean?"

"You know, when you know you did something bad and your conscience tells you that you did by making you feel bad. Like if you lied to your parents or you blamed someone else when you were the one at fault." Katy narrowed her eyes. "Or like how you left me to your fan girls and you didn't bother to help me?"

"I thought you were over that?"

She shrugged. "I am. I'm just giving an example. Anyway, I think you're feeling guilty because you hurt Sakura's feelings."

"Me? Guilty?" Sasuke scoffed. "She deserved it."

"What did she say again?" Katy asked.

"She said she would rather be lonely than scolded by her parents." Sasuke looked down at the table, his bangs hiding his angry eyes from Katy. "She doesn't understand."

Katy sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose, her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to stare straight at him. "Don't you understand girls at all, Sasuke?" He said nothing. "You should know that girls are sensitive in their own way."

"You're not very sensitive," Sasuke muttered.

Her eye twitched in annoyance but didn't comment on that. "Look Sasuke. Sakura doesn't know any better. An you were right. She doesn't understand because she never experienced it before. Plus she might not have realized what she said.

Sasuke frowned. Katy was right as much as he hated to say it. Sakura probably didn't mean to say that cruel sentence because she didn't understand it yet. After all, she still had her parents and had an easy life. He had a horrible feeling in his stomach as he thought back to what he said to her. He probably shouldn't have said that harsh thing. Even if she was an annoying fan girl.

"I guess you're right," Sasuke said with a sigh.

Katy smirked and stood up, grabbing her empty plate. "Aren't I always?"

"No. Remember how you said I'd get a girlfriend by the time I'm thirteen?"

She pouted. "It's still going to happen no matter what you say."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but smiled. Although he never wanted to admit, his day would never go by without Katy around. After all, she was his first and best friend. Now only if she could help him against Kakashi tomorrow…

---

The next day Sasuke was forced to get up early by Katy. She had barged into his room and literally dragged him out of bed. Once he was changed, he ate breakfast as usual. He could care less about listening to Kakashi. Kakashi couldn't exactly stop him since the food was already in his stomach. When he was done with breakfast, he headed out to the practice field.

Sasuke reached the training field only to find that he was the first one there. He had just leaned against one of the trees there when Sakura arrived. She came over, a smile on her face. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn." Sasuke purposefully ignored her as best as he could. That stupid feeling from yesterday was slowly creeping back and he didn't want it hanging over him while they were taking this test. So to help block out said feeling, he started to think about what he was planning on doing for the test.

Sasuke wasn't stupid. It was a known fact that by anyone and everyone who knew him. That was why he wasn't going to be stupid and careless like yesterday, and let the series go on its original path. Instead, he was going to use his current yet hazy memory on this test to his advantage. He was going to create own plan that was going to be entirely different from the series. Sasuke could remember that the whole point of this test was to see if the genin would team up to get the bells. So Sasuke was going to have to figure out how though.

Sakura wouldn't be that hard to ask to help him since she was his fan girl. Sasuke didn't have to worry about her but he did have to worry when it came to Naruto. The guy was an idiot, hard headed, and just plain stubborn around normal people but it was different when it came to the subject of one Sasuke Uchiha. His traits would just double when it came to him. That was why Sasuke was surely going to have trouble recruiting Naruto to work together with him.

For the next two hours, Sasuke came up with all kinds of offers to get Naruto to work with him. Most of them involved ramen like Sasuke offering to pay for his ramen for the next two months if he worked with him. In the end, Sasuke gave up on all ramen related offers. He would end up broke by the end of the first week. Money was important to him at this point, thank you very much. After he shot down the ramen ideas, he couldn't think up anything. All he could remember about Naruto in this point of the series was that he was obessed with ramen. Sasuke was screwed now that he had no idea on how to get Naruto to work with him.

"Good morning, you three!"

Sasuke snapped out of his thinking and stared at Kakashi as he arrived.

"You're late!" Both Sakura and Naruto yelled.

Kakashi only ignored them and walked over to one of the training logs, where a clock sat atop it. He pressed the button on the top. "I've set this alarm to go off at noon," he said. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out two small silver bells. "See these bells? Your objective is to take a bell from me before the timer sounds. If you fail to do so, you will not only get tied to a stump, you will not get lunch."

Both Sakura and Naruto's stomachs growled. Sasuke shook his head in disappointment. Looks like they didn't listen to him. Now they would suffer the consequences.

"All you have to get is just one bell," Kakashi continued. "Since there are only two bells, the one who is tied to the stump will also get sent back to the Academy. Now then, you may use weapons if you like and you must come at me like you mean to kill."

"But that's dangerous!" Sakura gasped.

Naruto laughed. "You couldn't even dodge an eraser! You're going to get killed!"

Again, Sasuke felt disappointed in Naruto. Didn't the blond have the brains that Kakashi was a jonin for a reason?

Apparently not.

"We'll just ignore the dunce and get started," Kakashi said.

Naruto obviously got angry at that comment for her reached into his weapon holster to pull out a kunai. He was prepared to attack but a hand on his head and another on his kunai stopped him.

"Settle down, Naruto," Kakashi said. "I didn't say go."

Sasuke was surprised at the speed the jonin moved at. He was standing in front of them one moment and behind Naruto another. Kakashi was good.

"I think you guys are starting to respect me." Kakashi smiled through his mask. "I'm starting to like you three." He let go of Naruto. "On your mark…get set…Go!"

At go, Sasuke sprinted for the trees and hid them, masking his chakra. It was good thing Anko taught him now to hide himself carefully so he couldn't get caught easily. Crouching down on a tree branch, Sasuke peered through the leaves and down at the field where he could see Naruto and Kakashi facing off. It wasn't exactly facing off since Kakashi's face was buried in a small, familiar orange book. Sasuke sighed. That book was getting on his nerves. He had heard all about it in town and deemed it the most perverted novel he had ever seen. It was a disgrace to even call it book.

_I gotta make sure Katy doesn't get her hands that thing_, Sasuke carefully thought. Ever since they had arrived in this dimension, Katy had voiced aloud that she wanted to take a look at the book since she had been most curious about it. He frowned. _Katy is such a perv when she wants to be._

Sasuke saw that Naruto was bending down to pick up a bell on the ground, with no Kakashi in sight. Naruto had picked up the bell when he was pulled into the air, hanging upside down by a rope tied to the tree. Kakashi appeared, looking up at Naruto.

"You aren't very bright, are you?" he said. Kakashi picked up the bell and tied it back on his waist. "Ninjas have to see under the underneath in order to survive. Otherwise, you won't get very far."

As Kakashi started lecturing Naruto, Sasuke had seen this window of opportunity. He pulled out a few kunai and shuriken and threw them at Kakashi. The weapons hit him on the side.

"Hey, that's overkill, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke didn't have time to come up with a retort when Kakashi was engulfed in a puff of smoke, only for a log to replace it. His eyes widened and cursed at himself. Now Kakashi knew where he was! Sasuke tried to come up with a new plan but found none. He had to come up with something before Kakashi got to him. When he glanced back at Naruto helplessly hanging in the air, a plan formed in his head.

_And it just might work,_ Sasuke thought with a smirk. He dashed towards where Naruto was, stopped and looked up to see Naruto struggling to get free. "Oi, dobe. You need help?"

Naruto stopped to glare at him before resuming his work. "I don't need help! Especially from you! I can get out on my own!" he said stubbornly. His hands undid the knot, letting his ankle free, and he landed on the ground safely. He grinned up at Sasuke triumphantly. "Ha! See, I don't need you-" Before he could finish, a second rope caught around his ankle and suspended him in the air yet again.

Sasuke merely smirked as Naruto flailed in the air. "You were saying?"

Naruto frowned and grumbled to himself.

"Do you need help now?" Sasuke asked.

He growled, "Maybe."

"I'll let you down only if you agree to help get the bells from Kakashi."

"What?! I'm not helping you in a million years!"

"Fine. Then I'll leave you to get yourself down." Sasuke turned around and started to walk away. He had barely taken two steps when Naruto groaned.

"Fine! I'll help you! Just get me down already!"

Just as Naruto said that, Sasuke whirled around and quickly threw a kunai at the rope. The rope cut in half and Naruto fell to the ground.

"Follow me." Sasuke ran towards the trees and after he took the rope off his ankle, Naruto followed him. He had caught up to Sasuke and jumped beside him.

"So what are you going to do?" Naruto asked.

"Hn."

"Stupid teme…" Naruto muttered at the lack of response.

Sasuke couldn't give out actual words at the moment. He was trying to locate Sakura before Kakashi got to her. As much as he didn't want to say it, he needed her help for his plan to work. Sasuke was concentrating as he ran to locate Sakura's chakra. It was difficult since she didn't have much to start with. After a while, he was able to locater her but he also felt Kakashi's chakra for a bit before it disappeared.

_I'm going to have to be on my guard…_

Sasuke ran towards Sakura's chakra with Naruto right behind him. He jumped to the ground and saw Sakura standing in front of him. She turned around as he landed on the ground and her eyes brightened.

"Sasuke-kun! Did you get a bell yet?" she asked.

"No."

Naruto landed behind Sasuke and his eyes widened confusion. "Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"

"I was hiding from Kakashi-sensei but I think he knows where I am." Sakura sighed. "At this rate, I'll never get a bell."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! You'll get a bell," Naruto said, trying to cheer her up. But she didn't hear him.

Sasuke decided to try his luck at cheering up the girl. Least he could do after he scolded her. "You'll get a bell if we work together."

"Huh?" Both Sakura and Naruto gawked at him. Sasuke had to stop himself from sighing.

_Must I explain everything to them?_

"The whole point of this test is that we have to work together to get the bells," he said.

"Then why did he say one of us would fail?" Sakura asked.

"He's bluffing. Either everyone passes or everyone fails. That's why we were put together in teams."

It seemed like they didn't understand at first but realization crept onto Sakura's face while Naruto was still confused.

"Oh…I see!" Sakura said. Then she frowned. "Wait…How are we going to get the bells?"

"I have a plan." Sasuke motioned for the two to come closer and they obeyed. He began to whisper his plan to them.

---

Kakashi Hatake was suspicious. He was standing in the middle of clearing with his head buried in his beloved Icha Icha Paradise but he was alert to everything around him. One of the reasons why he was alert was because of the genin.

Kakashi had not seen hide or hair of the three twelve years old ever since he saw Sasuke flee from him when the Uchiha revealed his location. Normally, he wouldn't have been worried that none of them dared attack him yet. That meant they were either setting traps or waiting for the right moment. But this was not a normal team.

As far as girls go, Sakura was just your average kunoichi. Albeit she was a bit weaker than the usual but Kakashi could tell that she must have the brains of a kunoichi. It was the boys that were the abnormal ones.

The first abnormal boy was obviously Naruto. The boy was hyper, stubborn, naïve, and stupid. All of those things spelled trouble in capital letters. He was also cunning and sneaky like a fox which, in a way, aided him in the pranks he had before used on the village. There was also the subject of a certain fox demon that had attacked the village and was sealed inside of the short boy. That fact alone was enough to deem the boy abnormal. Kakashi didn't really hate Naruto. In fact, the boy reminded him a lot of his former sensei, the Yondiame. Naruto had the same kind of fire within him like his sensei. But it was the fact that he was stupid was what bothered him.

The second abnormal boy happened to be Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke was a lot like the usual definition of an Uchiha: cold, emotionless, and a tight assed guy. But there was something about him that was different and set apart from his murderer of an older brother. When Kakashi had set his eyes on him for the first time yesterday, he could tell by the boy's eyes that he was…happy. It shocked him to see this emotion within those onyx eyes. Happiness was not emotion Uchihas usually had in their cold eyes. Well, Obito looked happy but Kakashi could tell that even he didn't have that light in his eyes. So it was shocking to see that in Sasuke's eyes.

Kakashi had though that Sasuke would be cold to everything with only cold pits for eyes seeing as how his whole family-excluding his brother-was dead. But there was that big factor that he had been missing for nearly five years to consider. Anything could have happened during that time period that kept him from his first impression of the Uchiha. There was also the fact he still wished to kill his brother to consider. Kakashi would have to keep his eye out for Sasuke. For all he knew, Sasuke could be the avenger boy he had first thought of.

_Quite an unusual team this year,_ Kakashi mused, glancing through the corner of his eye to see Naruto appear from the tress. He chuckled. _No matter. They'll be the same as last year._

"Naruto, no matter how many times you charge at me, it will only be the same."

Naruto grinned. "But this time it'll be different! I'll get a bell from you for sure!" He made a hand sign. "Kage bunshin no Jutsu!"

Three clones appeared beside him. They punched a fist in the air.

"Alright, let's do this!"

Kakashi sighed, his head still in the book but his body ready. He didn't really need to try with Naruto. Naruto and his clones charged at him. One clone punched at his head and he ducked when he noticed another clone kicked at his feet. Surprised, Kakashi stopped the kick while putting his book away. As he did so, he heard a battle cry from above and looked up to see another clone flying down at him. Kakashi gripped the ankle of the clone he held and swung him at the one above. Both poofed out of existence on contact. He didn't have time to pull out his book to read when two more clones attacked him.

_Shit! How did he get this good this fast!? _Kakashi thought as he ducked from an aerial kick, aimed at his head. _I can't even read while this is happening!_

Kakashi jabbed the two clones in the chest, eliminating them. Now only he and the original Naruto stood. Naruto was panting from all of the work while the jonin barely broke a sweat. Kakashi merely smirked. "What was that nonsense about this being different?"

Naruto panted. "It will be, dattebayo!" Then with a huge effort, he charged at Kakashi himself. He flew at him with a punch aimed for the head but the jonin ducked yet again and Naruto flew right over him. He landed on the ground roughly and Kakashi turned to look at him. "You will never learn will you?" he said to Naruto.

Naruto cracked a smile. "Now, Sasuke!"

Kakashi had barely hared the name when he heard a yell behind him.

"Fire style: Fire ball Jutsu!"

Kakashi looked behind him before he dived to the side to avoid a huge fireball. He stood up quickly and was surprised to see Sasuke was the maker of that fireball.

_Impossible! His chakra shouldn't even be developed enough to perform that!_

No sooner had he thought, Kakashi was suddenly tackled on. He landed on his front, his face on the ground. Lifting up his head, he could see Sasuke and Naruto were quickly running over. His eye widened when he heard a giggle. Then he felt the weight that was on his back lift and saw Sakura running over to the boys, smiling widely. She held up two bells in front of them, beaming pride.

"I got'em!" Sakura said. Kakashi quickly stood to his feet and looked at his hip. Sure enough, the bells that the girl held were his.

"Good job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto congratulated as he took the bell Sakura was handing to him.

Sakura stuck her tongue out, winked, and held up the V sign. "It was a piece of cake!"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked at her before looking at Kakashi "Time's up, Kakashi."

Just then, the alarm rang.

Both Sakura and Naruto cheered. "We did it! We got the bells!"

Kakashi sighed. Great. These kids actually got the bells from him. He walked over to the three." Good job, you three. You've gotten the bells from me. Both Sakura and Naruto pass while Sasuke gets sent back to the Academy."

"No way!" Naruto yelled. "Sasuke isn't going anywhere!"

"Yeah! It's either all of us pass or all of us fail," Sakura stated proudly.

"We're a team," Sasuke said.

Kakashi looked at all three genins' faces. All of them were sure of their statements. It seemed like they knew now. He smiled at them.

"Congratulations. You all passed."

Naruto and Sakura smiled widely at each other while Sasuke smirked.

"Tomorrow will be the first day as Team 7," Kakashi stated proudly. He didn't expect this ending at all and he was not in the least bit mad. Like Naruto said, it was going to be different.

How right he was.

---

A/N: Finally! I updated for this story! Its been so long! Why did it take that long? Well, let's just say that TODAY'S MY BDAY!!! AND I GOT A LAPTOP FOR MY BDAY! You have no idea how happy I am I have a laptop for myself! I was tired of always hiding my stories (My fam doesn't know I make up Naruto stories. Sad.). Anyways, today I turned fifteen but I'm all alone. My parents are at work and I'm home alone. I'm sad. My friends even forgot my birthday! T.T I almost cried when they didn't know. On top of all that, my week as sucked. First I have Akatsuki's child deleted but I made up a new story in its place then yesterday, two dogs followed me home! I'm serious! Two pitbulls followed me home! Luckily the dogs were nice and only licked me. And luckily the private security took them so I didn't have to handle them. My parents and family laughed when they heard this. I literally freaked out when the dogs were following me and they laughed! Just goes to show that something intresting had to happen on my last day of being fourteen.

It's like I have a curse when it comes to the week of my bday. Like last year, I sprained my knee on the week of my bday. I was mad! This year was worse!

*sigh* Oh well. Sorry I rambled for so long. Anywho, if you're a fan of Akatsuki's child, make sure to read my new replacement for it Red clouds and Uchiha might be better than Akatsuki's child but i dunno.

Anyway, review please! I'd like that for my bday present from my readers! =)

-Twilit angel


	10. New mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. In an alternate dimesion, I would but in this one, I don't.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 10

Katy was not happy lately. Usually, she would be in a happy mood but not today. Today was horrible.

In the morning of said horrible day, she had woken up late which meant she would be late for work. Sasuke couldn't wake her up since he was exhausted from all of the boring missions his team had started doing a few weeks ago. Katy couldn't blame him thought. The missions would bore her to tears if she had to do them. Anyway, Katy had to change quickly and had to skip breakfast if she were to make it to work in time. She rushed to her job and had reached the clothing store to find that the store was closed.

Katy was confused. The store would be open by now. She reached for the door handle when she noticed a note attached to the door. She grabbed it to read it.

_Katy,_

_I had to go and take a two month long mission by the Hokage and since I'm a jonin ranked kunoichi, I couldn't refuse. Because of this I had to close the store for that period of time. Sorry I couldn't tell you until now. It was sudden! So consider this time as your vacation. You need it._

_-Sumi_

Katy felt like cheering but couldn't. She was finally having a vacation! And in for so long! Now she had her mornings free again. She couldn't help but feel sad thought. Katy had actually looked forward to going to work at the store in the mornings lately. It only meant she had something to do while Sasuke was on missions. If she didn't have work, she had nothing to do.

With a sigh, Katy went to go grab some breakfast before she went to the dango shop. She figured that now that she had her mornings free, she could help out at the shop a bit more. That was her new plan until Sumi came back from her mission.

Thirty minutes later, Katy arrived at the dango shop. Walking in, she found the shop to be almost empty save for two people. She ignored this and began to go into the kitchen when Tsubaki walked out. She was surprised to see Katy there but smiled none the less.

"Oh! Katy-san, I was meaning to speak to you."

She blinked. "About what?"

"It's about your shift."

"Oh, I needed to speak to you about that too! I was wondering if I could help out a bit in the mornings for a while."

Tsubaki frowned. "You wish to work in the mornings?" Katy nodded and she sighed. "I'm sorry to say this but I"m afraid you can't."

Katy raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"You see, I've been noticing that you've been working so hard lately that I decided to give you a month vacation. You need the rest, being so young."

Katy was shocked. Another vacation? But she wanted to work, not relax! She would get bored to death and her jobs were the only interesting thing of her day. This was just weird that all of a sudden both of her bosses were giving her a month or more of vacation.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Tsubaki said. "This time of year is slow business so we don't need much help so you can go relax."

Katy felt a bit dejected but smiled anyway. "Okay. Thank you very much!"

"Your welcome."

Katy walked out of the shop and just began to walk around town aimlessly. She was starting to feel sad. Because of the two vacations, she didn't have anything to do now. She didn't feel like relaxing since she usually hung out with Sasuke or Hinata to feel relaxed. But they were on missions so that couldn't happen. There was also the fact that she didn't have many friends either to be relaxed in the first place.

As much as she didn't like to admit it, she didn't have many friends here. Katy never was sociable with girls. For some reason, she could only get along with boys and not girls. She supposed it was because most of the girls here would either hate her or only be her friend to get to Sasuke. Katy would rather die than be friends with fake girls. The only girl who wasn't after him was Hinata.

Since Katy had no friends who weren't ninjas, she had no one to hang out with.

_It sucks not having civilian friends._ She sighed and began to window shop.

Katy had not noticed this but just a few feet in front of her was a single banana peel. Now someone would probably move the yellow peel if they wanted to but none did. Also, anyone would have just walked around it to avoid falling if they were paying attention. But Katy was not paying attention so she failed to notice this banana peel.

Katy neared the evil yellow peel with each step until she was one step away. She had just turned her head forward to seen an old man with a conical straw hat when her foot stepped on the peel. She found herself sliiping and falling forward onto the old man in front of her. She gave a short shout as they both tumbled to the ground.

"Ow..." Katy picked herself up and started to apologize to the old man. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see that peel there!"

The old man groaned and picked himself up. He looked at the ground to the broken sake bottle and sighed. "That was my last bottle."

"A-Are you okay, sir?" Katy asked. The old man glanced at her and almost gave her a cold look. "I wasn't watching where I was going-"

"You should have been watching where you were going, young lady," the old man interrupted her. "I could have gotten seriously hurt and I don't need that right now. I'm a master bridge builder from the Land of Waves. I have to go finish my bridge and support my daughter and grandson. If I was hurt, who would finish the bridge?"

Katy hung her head. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't be enough, young lady." The old man's eyes scanned her. "How old are you?"

"Twelve." Katy shivered. Why was this guy asking her for her age? Was he going to rape her to something?

"Twelve, huh?" The old man was in deep thought, staring at her. "I have the perfect punishment for you."

She looked back up at him, gawking. "Punishment? I didn't even do anything wrong! And I said I was sorry already. Isn't that enough?!"

The man gave her a scolding look. "Or course not. If I was actually hurt, woudl there not still be a punishment for you? My daughter and her son would starve and worry that I was hurt! Your parents would feel the same, wouldn't they?"

Katy said nothing. Her mother would worry if she did get hurt. She was all she had left of her children. She frowned, guilt slowly washing over her as she thought of how the old man's family would feel if she actually did injure him.

"As I was saying," the man continued. "Your punishment is to come with me to the Land of Waves to help me finish the bridge I'm working on."

"What?!" She shouted. Work on a _bridge?_ Did the old man not see she was not strong enough to carry a heavy _box?_ "I'm not built enough to build a bridge! I have no muscles!"

"No matter! You will still have to work." The old man turned around. "Gather any supplies and meet me at the village gate when you are ready. I'm off to the Hokage tower to go get a ninja team to escort us to the Land of Waves. Oh, and my name is Tazuna by the way. What's yours?"

"Katy," she muttered.

"Alright, Katy, I'll be at the village gate soon."

Before Katy could say anymore, Tazuna walked away, leaving her standing in the street. After a while, she sighed.

_Crap. I'm going to the Land of Waves to work on that bridge! _Katy heavily sighed again and began walking home to gather her things. She was slightly mad she had to work for Tazuna because she almost hurt him and had to take his stupid punishment. Stupid old man for guilting her into this! But there was one thing she happily noted on.

_At least I won't be bored for a month._

---

Sasuke was bored. For a few weeks, all he had been doing were D-ranked missions. They were more like chores, Sasuke thought. Unless they involved fighting or at least some action, these missions were chores. He had enough chores at home but now he had to do these? He wanted action! Not these boring things.

Team 7 were currently at the Hokage Tower after they had completed yet another mission. It was the mission where thye were retrieving a cat for some lady.

"Good work," Iruka praised. "Now, you can either baby sit an elder's grandson or go grocery shopping for someone."

"No! I'm tired of all these boring missions!" Naruto yelled. "I want an exciting mission!"

Kakashi sighed. "Time to explain how missions are given."

He started to explain the mission ranks and the ninja ranks. Sasuke didn't pay attention as usual. He already knew this stuff. Why should he listen again? It felt a big deja vu as he relived all of this stuff and it annoyed him to no end.

"How about this? We'll give you a C-ranked mission," the Hokage said to Naruto. "You will be escorting two people to the Land of Waves and escort back one of them here."

Sasuke blinked. He knew the Land of Waves Arc pretty well. By what he remembered, they were only supposed to escort Tazuna. Who was this other person?

"Who are we escorting?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Here is one of them now."

The door opened behind them and an old man stumbled in. Sasuke frowned as the old man leaned on the doorway, his face a bit flushed.

_He's drunk._

"So these are the brats escorting me and my recruit?" Tazuna said. "They look stupid, especially the short one with the stupid face."

"Haha! Who's the short one with the stupid face?" Naruto laughed, looking at Sakura and Sasuke. He stopped laughing when seeing he was the short one. He growled at Tazuna. "I'm going to kill you!"

Kakashi grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar before he could attack. "I don't think it's a good idea to kill the client."

"Yeah, I'm the client. I'm the great master bridge builder, Tazuna!" he proclaimed. "And you guys are going to take me and my recruit to the Land of Waves to finish a bridge."

Sasuke was glad that this was finally happening. He thought he was going to be bored to death by all of these D-ranked missions.

Kakashi accepted the mission and instructed the three twelve year old to go home and pack what they needed then head to the village gates. He dismissed them and each headed home to pack.

Sasuke quickly arrived at the apartment and started to pack some clothes, scrolls, and weapons. He had to prepare himself for Haku and Zabuza later on since he didn't feel like fake dying on the bridge. It looked painful in the anime.

Sasuke was about to reach for another weapon but paused as a thought occurred to him.

_What am I going to tell Katy?_

Sasuke had forgotten all about her for a second. Katy was going to be home alone if he was going to be gone for a month or more. He didn't want to leave her here all by herself. It just wasn't right. But he couldn't bring her on the mission either. It was too late to request for her to come as well. He sighed, zipping up his bag. He was going to have to leave her home alone whether he liked it or not.

A few minutes later, Sasuke was ready to go. He had written a note to Katy, saying he was going on a mission for a while, and left it on the table. Then he left the apartment and started walking towards the village gate. Halfway there, he met up with Sakura.

"Hi, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura ran up to Sasuke, smiling. A backpack was on her back. The two started to walk. "Can you believe we have a C-ranked mission? And outside the village too! I'm so excited!"

"Hn." He agreed with her. He wanted to see outside the village and see what it was like. It was the first time he had felt excited in this world.

Sakura continued to babble on about the mission as Sasuke pretended to listen to her. If he gave the impression that he was listening, she would keep talking and supply a one-sided conversation. They walked onto the path to the village gate. At the gate, Sasuke noticed Tazuna waiting there. As the two genins walked closer, they could see that another person stood by Tazuna. The person was short, about their height, and could be identified as a girl since her bare legs were showing from underneath a black skirt. That was all they could identify about her since her back was turned to them.

"Sasuke-kun, do you think that's the recruit that Tazuna-san told us he was bringing?" Sakura asked.

He didn't answer but he was confused. Why would Tazuna's recruit be a girl? Surely a young man would fare better than a girl their age when working on a bridge. By the girl's build, he could tell she was not athletic or strong. And for some strange reason, the girl was _very_ familiar to him.

"It's wierd that his recruit is a girl. Maybe its not the recruit but another ninja who might go with us? She _does_ look like a ninja." Sakura examined the girl as they approached closer. "No, she can't be a ninja. She doesn't have the village hitai-ate or the equipment.

Sasuke and Sakura got close enough to be in a better sight range. Tazuna looked to the two genins. "There you are. I thought you would keep us waiting."

"Hello, Tazuna-san," Sakura greeted. "Is this the recruit you were talking about?"

Sasuke saw the girl tense up.

"Yes she is," he replied. "I found her while here. I thought she was good enough to help me work on the bridge."

Sakura studied the girl, a frown on her face. "Don't you think she's a bit weak to work on a bridge?"

"That's what I sai!" The girl turned around to glare at Tazuna. Sasuke was surprised to see who the girl was. It was Katy. "I told him I can't work on a bridge because I have no muscles!"

"Katy, what the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded from her.

Katy glanced at him and smiled. "Oh, hey Sasuke-kun! I didn't see you there."

"Wait...Sasuke-kun, do you know this girl?" Sakura asked, looking between the two friends in confusion.

"Actually, Sasuke-kun and I are-" Katy started to say.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto interrupted, greeting her loudly. He ran up to the group, his hands clutching the straps of his backpack. "Are you ready for the mission?"

Sakura sighed to which Katy giggled at. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Of course. Katy had to have Naruto as her favorite guy character.

Naruto glanced at Katy when she giggled. "Hey, I know you!"

Sakura and Sasuke stared at Katy, who was smiling.

"You do?" Sakura asked Naruto.

"How?" Sasuke asked Katy.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah! She bumped into me a couple months ago. The teme's fan girls were after her."

"And he helped show me where I could hide so that I wouldn't die a horrible death." Katy glared at Sasuke as she said this.

"Are you over it or not?" Sasuke asked, a bit annoyed that she kept bringing up and always glaring at him when mentioned.

"I am! It's just that I keep thinking about how you could have helped me." She shook her head. "You _were_ the one to get me into that in the first place."

"Wait, you got her into that!?" Naruto yelled, bewildered.

"Yes! Even thought I'm his loving friend, he didn't have the decency to help me." Katy touched her heart and sniffled. "I thought we were really close too."

"Drama queen," Sasuke muttered. Now she was just being over dramatic.

Katy stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"You two are friends!?" Sakura and Naruto yelled together.

The two nodded.

"B-But I've never seen you before," Sakura said, slightly mad. Katy gulped which Sasuke understood. Ever since she was chase, she had a slight fear of fan girls and Sakura was a big one. "How are you Sasuke-kun's friend?"

Katy was afraid to answer. She feared that if she said the wrong thing, she would get pummeled on the head. She didn't have to, though, because there was a puff of smoke beside her.

"Hello, everybody," Kakashi greeted. He looked around the group. "Are we all here?"

All of them nodded.

Kakashi's eye scanned around the five people and landed on Katy. Her brown eyes met his eye and her face turned pink. Then Kakashi turned to Tazuna. "Is this the recruit you told us about, Tazuna-san?" he asked.

"Yup! She's going to help me work on the bridge."

Katy gave the evil eye at the old man but said nothing. But then she flushed again when Kakashi spoke to her.

"What is your name?"

"K-Katy Rivera!" she eagerly said. On the inside, her inner fan girl was squealing. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kakashi Hatake," he said. "These are my students, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

Katy smiled at Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura. "It's nice to meet you."

Sasuke saw that Katy was blushing at Kakashi. He frowned, putting his hands in his pocket. "_He's too old for you Katy."_

Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and Tazuna were surprised when Sasuke spoke in English. Katy merely pouted.

_"Aw! You're no fun, Sasuke-kun! Besides, its just a fan girl crush. It's not like I'm in love with him."_

Sasuke still frowned. He was okay that Katy had fan girl crushes but if she actually fell in love with any of the male characters, he would kill whoever it was. Even if it was his own brother. Katy was his sister and he couldn't bear the thought of her having her heart broken. "_You better not fall for him _or_ any of the guy genins."_

She made a face. "_Nah. I'm not going to fall for any of them. I would have fallen for Sasuke Uchiha but turns out he's my bro and he's an ass."_

"Shut up."

Katy smirked. "Make me."

Sasuke gave her a glare that said I-can-and-you-know-it. She stuck her tongue out at him before turning away. He smirked in triumph. It just goes to show he could kick her ass without breaking a sweat (though, he didn't to).

Katy tugged at Kakashi's arm. "Kakashi-san, may we go now?"

Kakashi snapped out of the surprise and turned to Tazuan. "Are we ready to leave?"

The old man nodded. Naruto let out a loud cheer as the group started to walk into the forest path. They walked in silence for a while, only the chirping birds and the crunch of their shoes sounded the air. Katy didn't know this but Sakura kept glaring at her as Katy walked beside Sasuke in front of her. Only Sasuke noticed this but brushed it off.

"Katy," Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah?" she said.

"_How exactly did you become Tazuna's recruit?"_

Katy scowled. _"The old man guilted me into it after I tripped and fell on him. Said it was my 'punishment.'" _Here, she used air quotes. She rolled her eyes. "_I swear. I already apologized to him yet he's making me work for him."_

_"Your fault for not watching where you going," _Sasuke said, ignoring the glare Katy sent him.

Before Katy could retort, Sakura appeared beside her. Katy felt a bit afraid as she saw the sickly and fakely sweet smile on Sakura's face. "So Katy-san, how long have you and Sasuke-kun been friends?" she asked.

"Um, three or four years?" Katy lost count. She knew she became Sasuke's friend when they were nine but she knew him for two years before that. Before they were friends, she thought Sasuke was just this guy who was popular among the girls. But after they were partnered up for a project, she found out he may have been a jerk but he was really shy and didn't trust many people. She forgot how but after the project, they became best friends. "I don't know. All I can remember is that we knew each other for two years then became friends when we were nine."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So you knew him for that long?"

Katy nodded. "It's hard to explain. I didn't like Sasuke at first because he was a cold, insensitive guy."

Sasuke scowled. "Oh yeah? I thought you were a crazy, hyper girl."

"I was hyper when I was seven!" she argued.

"And you're not now?"

Katy opened her mouth but shut it. "Damn, you're right."

"So how're you still friends with the teme?" Naruto asked, joining in on the conversation. "Didn't he sic his fan girls on you?"

Katy laughed nervously. "Well, I brought that on myself, I guess. I said some things to them and they go really mad at me. Sasuke had nothing to do with it, even though eh could have helped me," she muttered. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"So you've known Sasuke for that long?" Kakashi asked. Katy and Sasuke didn't know that he was actually paying attention.

The two nodded.

"Then can I ask what language you two were speaking back at the village gates?"

They froze up but then relaxed quickly. The two expected that he would ask that sooner or later.

"Actually, Kakashi-san," Katy said, smiling. "I really don't think it's any of your business-Ow!" She flinched when Tazuna hit her on the head. "What was that for!?" she demanded.

"You should act kinder to our guards. They are trying to protect us," Tazuna reprimended her. "Now apologize," he told her as if she were his child.

Katy pouted and sighed. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-san," she said monotoningly.

His eye crinkled in an upside down U. "It's alright."

The group came to a big puddle in the road. Katy stared at it as everyone stepped around it. Glancing at Sasuke through the corner of her eye, she saw that he noticed as well. He glanced at her as well and gave her a look that said Be-quiet-and-stay-on-guard. She grinned in response.

The walk soon became peaceful. Naruto kept jabbering on about the mission and being Hokage, Sakura was doing her best to not smack him, Katy and Sasuke stared around their surroundings, and Kakashi and Tazuna were silent.

Katy looked behind her and stopped in her tracks. She gasped as two people emerged from a puddle.

"Holy crap! Kakashi-san!"

It was too late.

The two people, ninjas, sprang forward and chains came out of the bracelet-like containers, which had spikes on them, around Kakashi with blinding speed. The chains bit into his flesh.

"One down," one of them hissed.

They pulled the chains even tighter and his body began to crumble.

"Sensei!" Sakura screamed.

Katy and Sasuke only had this thought as they identified the ninjas.

_The Demon Brothers..._

_---_

A/N: Sorry! I have updated in a while cuz of summer starting and all. I've been so bored lately! I have nothing fun to do except for updating! Ugh! Oh well. Anyway, for those of you who are reading Red Clouds and Uchiha fans_,_ I'm sorry to say that most of you will have to wait a while before I update that one again. I've had writer's block and when I know what to do, I lose the urge to write that one. I'm trying very hard to continue it but my muse might not be back for a while! Sorry!

I don't have much to say so please review! Oh! And I also might edit some of the chapters since I have a lot of typos.

-Twilit angel


	11. Ambushed

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I do own Katy.**

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 11

Sasuke saw that Naruto froze up as one of the brothers appeared behind him. Sasuke jumped in to save him from being killed. He flung a shuriken to pin the chains to a tree trunk.

"Run, Dobe!" he shouted at Naruto.

The brothers struggled to free the chains but to no avial. Sasuke had done well to make sure the chains would be useless.

As they struggled, Sasuke jumped into the air to kick the two of them in the head. The two staggered for a moment but quickly recovered. They released the bracelets on their wrists and chucked them to the ground. One ninja went for Tazuna and Katy while the other went for Naruto.

Katy shivered with fright next to Tazuna as the ninja neared them. Sakura was in front of the two, a kunai at ready. Katy couldn't believe it. She could die here! She didn't want to die before seeing her mother again. It would break her heart. When she saw that Sakura was looking around helplessly, she saw that she was afraid too. Seeing this, her body reacted on it's own.

Katy extracted a kunai from the holder on Sakura's leg. She closed her eyes shut, throwing the kunai at the attacking ninja quickly. The ninja was occupied with Sasuke appearing between him and Sakura that he barely noticed that the kunai peirced his shoulder.

Suddenly, an arm shot out of nowhere and grabbed the ninja by the neck. The ninja began to gag.

Sasuke sighed with relief as Kakashi appeared. He had already taken care of the other ninja, lugging him under his arm.

"Sensei! You used the Kawarimi no Jutsu~" Naruto exclaimed, relieved at the sight of the broken wood peieces where Kakashi was first attacked.

"Sorry I couldn't help you earlier, Naruto," Kakashi apologized. "Are you hurt?"

Sasuke and Katy saw where one of the Demon brothers attacked Naruto on his left hand and was left with a red gash. Katy felt a bit dizzy and closed her eyes to avoid looking at it.

"I never thought you would freeze up like that," Kakashi said. "In any case, good job, Sasuke. You too, Sakura, Katy. Actually Katy-san, I was surprised you did that."

Katy let out a weak laugh, opening one eyes and waving her hand off. "I didn't mean to do that. My body just reacted on it's own."

Sakura gasped when seeing Katy's hand. "Katy-san, you're bleeding!"

Katy's eyes widned as she stared at what Sakura was staring at. On her right hand, her palm was bleeding from when she grabbed the kunai incorrectly. As red liquid started to leak out and gather at her palm, her head and vision started to swim as the metallic scent drifted to her nose. This was enough. Katy felt her mind black out as gravity brought her to the ground, her body falling forward.

Sasuke caught Katy before her body hit the ground. He set her down gently and held her close so that her head was leaning on his shoulder. He looked at her face to see it was pale and clammy with sweat.

Sakura knelt beside the two, full of worry at the sight of Katy. "Sasuke-kun, is she alright?"

"She just fainted."

"Why?"

"Katy had hemophobia." Sasuke took out a roll of bandages out and started wrapping it around Katy's hand.

"Hemo-whatsit?" Naruto asked, looked at his own hand as it started to swell up.

"Hemophobia, Naruto." Kakashi only recieved a confused look. "It means she's afraid of blood. Good thing she fainted or else she would have to watch Naruto try to flush out the poison in his hand by making it bleed. Better do it now or the poison will spread through your system," he told Naruto.

Naruto only stared at his hand.

Sasuke didn't listen as Kakashi accuse Tazuna of lying to them about the mission rank. He had finished wrapping Katy's hand to stop the bleeding somewhat. His eyes stared at Katy's face in concern. He was worried about Katy. Ever since they knew each other and became friends, she had never told him she was hemophobic until an accident occured.

It was when they were ten did Sasuke first find out about her phobia. Sasuke and Katy were in class working on some art projects. Katy was next to Sasuke drawing while Sasuke was cutting some paper for his collage. He was distracted by something when he felt a sharp pain on his hand. He looked down at his hand to see that he had cut a little bit too miuch and his finger was cut a bit. Sasuke didn't cry when he saw the blood or panic. He was actually pretty calm about it as he raised his hand to ask the teacher for a bandaid. (A/N: He may not remember but he grew used to the sight of blood after seeing his parents' blood. Call it a subconsious thing.)

Before the teacher saw his raised hand, Katy had looked up from her drawing and looked over at Sasuke. When she saw the blood drip down to his paper, she had turned pale then green before standing to her feet and raced out of the room and towards the bathroom. The teacher was surprised and askd Sasuke what had happened with Katy. He didn't know either and asked for the bandaid. Once getting the bandaid, the teacher told Sasuke to go see what was wrong with Katy. He did what he was told and walked towards the restrooms.

Sasuke reached the girl's restroom. He opened the door partially so that he didn't have to enter and still see inside. Inside, he heard retching and coughing. "Katy?" he called inside.

The toilet flushed and a stall door opened. From his position by the door, Sasuke saw Katy wipe her mouth before coming outside. She smiled weakly at him. Sasuke asked her what happened and she only replied, "I don't like seeing blood or smelling it. It makes me sick for some reason."

From that day on, Sasuke was careful about hurting himself or showing blood around Katy.

_But now that we're around ninjas, it'll get worse,_ Sasuke thought gravely. Katy was okay with seeing cartoon blood. She was _not_ okay with real blood. That was bad news for her since here in the Naruto world, they showed blood all the time. That was why Katy tolerated the show a bit because of the cartoon blood. He mentally groaned. _Crap. She'll end up fainting all the time._

"Okay, okay. You win. We'll watch over you until we get home and bring Katy-san back safely," Kakashi was saying. Sasuke snapped out of his daze. Whoa. He must have skipped the whole explanation. Kakashi walked over to Sasuke and knelt beside him. "Want me to carry Katy-san until she wakes up?"

Sasuke nodded and handed over Katy to him. Kakashi picked her up and gave her a piggy back ride while Sakura held onto his bag. Sasuke stood to his feet and followed him.

The rest of the journey went well when they finally arrived at the part that would take them to the Land of Waves. Katy was still unconsious. They avoided the passenger boat that Gato owned and headed for a remote area. Tazuna told them that a comrad of his would take them to land. Sure enough, there was someone waiting there.

The group couldn't leave until the middle night, however, so they wouldn't get caught. By that time, Katy had woken up and asked what happened. Sasuke told her she fainted at the blood on her hand. Katy was embarrassed when hearing this and said nothing during the boatride. She was just embarrassed she fainted in front of ninjas.

They had boarded the boat and headed towards land. On the way, they caught sight of the bridge that Tazuna and Katy would work on. She would most likely be useless since she couldn't carry heavy weight.

The group finally reached a pier. Once they climbed out, the rower sped away.

"I'm almost home!" Tazuna gleefully said. "Follow me!"

They started to walk along a path that was in between a pond and some trees. Sasuke stayed close to Katy as they walked. He knew that soon they would be attacked by Zabuza Momochi. Zabuza, in the series, was after only Tazuna. But right now, Sasuke knew that he would also be after Katy as well.

Katy let out a huge yawn as Naruto started to overreact when something moved in the tres. She didn't really care about that part and only wanted to sleep. Her body wasn't used to staying up until dawn, even if she was unconsious the whole previous day. She watched warily as Naruto had thrown a kunai at a snow white rabbit. She frowned at the color of the rabbit's fur. "Aren't rabbits supposed to be brown in the spring?" she said aloud.

"Everyone get down!" Kakashi suddenly yelled.

They all ducked in time as a huge sword swung above them. Katy gulped. If she hadn't reacted like she should have (She's a slow reactor), she would be dead by now. The sword cut into a tree trunck and stopped moving. A tall man leaped up and stood on the handle.

"_Oh, crap! It's Zabuza!"_ gasped Katy.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Here comes the fight with Zabuza. He had to be careful or Katy could get hurt.

"Ah, now I see why the Demon brothers failed," Zabuza sneered down at them. Sasuke stood a bit protectively near Katy as they stood up. Zabuza's eyes flashed as he saw Kakashi. "Well, if it isn't the famous Copy ninja of Konoha! Kakashi Hatake and his famous Sharingan!"

Kakashi glared at Zabuza. "Zabuza Momochi, the rouge ninja of the Mist. Fancy meeting you here."

Zabuza chuckled. "So you know me. Hand over the old man and little girl!"

Team 7 got into the Manji formation around Tazuna when hearing that. Zabuza merely laughed.

Kakashi looked sharply at Team 7. "You guys stay out of this. Guard Tazuna and Katy." Then he pulled up the left side of his headband so his left eye, the Sharingan, showed. Katy would have sighed in relief at the sight of it but remembered Kakashi gets his butt kicked by Zabuza a bit even with it showing. Kakashi glared at Tazuna. "Leave the old man and girl alone. You have to fight me first."

"Lucky me! I get to see the famous Sharingan!"

The word 'Sharingan' raised a question on Naruto and Sakura's heads. Katy and Sasuke, however, barely blinked an eye.

"What's a Sharingan?" Naruto asked.

"The Sharingan allows the user to see through almost all jutsu and reflect them back like a mirror," Sasuke explained, standing closer to Katy.

Zabuza smirked through his mask. "And that's not all! It can also copy any jutsu and add it to his arsenal. But enough talk. I have people to kill."

He vanished and stood on top of the water on the pond. His hands moved in a blur.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist jutsu!"

A fog suddenly appeared, clouding everyone's vision. Katy shivered with fear, standing as close as she could to Tazuna. Her mind told her that she was going to be safe but her body told her she could die.

_This isn't a game anymore...It's for real! We could die here if we mess up!_ Katy wildly thought.

Sasuke shivered as well. He was thinking the same thing as Katy. He knew very well if he fought earlier than he should, he could get killed. But then he thought about Katy's safety. It was more important to worry about her safety before his own since she was the one Zabuza targeted. He had to protect her. His need to protect Katy made him stop shivering like a coward.

"Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, jugular vien, subclavian artery, kidney and heart! What shall I drill through first?" Zabuza recited and laughed.

Katy gulped, near tears. Tazuna held onto her hand to reassure her but that didn't work.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

Kakashi, who looked like he was about to attack, glanced back at Katy and smiled. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll protect you guys even if he gets me. I will never let my comrades die!"

"I wouldn't bet on that."

Zabuza suddenly appeared in the middle of the Manji formation. Katy glimpsed into Zabuza's murderous eyes and paled. They held so much bloodlust. She felt a scream working up her throat but she held it in as Kakashi came in and pushed everyone out of harm's way. He thrust a kunai in Zabuza's stomach but he turned into water and slasped on the ground.

"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi quickly looked behind him to see Zabuza. He swung his sword to cut through Kakashi's waist. Sakura screamed but was surprised when Kakashi's body turned to water as well! Although Katy was scared to death right now, her fangirl side squealed loudly.

_Awesome! This is better than watching the anime!_

Sasuke was impressed by Kakashi' performance. He had watched this fight millions of time before and each time he grew more impressed on how Kakashi handled the situation. He also wondered when he gained the Sharingan, could he copy tons of jutsu like him?

The two watched as Kakashi fought Zabuza. Katy noticed that Zabuza was heading towards her. She wildly looked around her to see she was too far away from the rest of the group and froze. Zabuza was going to kill her!

"Katy, run!" Sasuke shouted frantically.

Katy couldn't move her body to do so.

Zabuza was right near her when he stopped. He looked at the ground to see makibishi dipped in poison.

"What is this? A joke?" he scoffed. He forgot about Katy, much to Sasuke's relief, and headed straight for Kakashi instead.

Katy sighed and sank to her knees on the ground. For a second there, she thought she was actually going to die. Sasuke rushed to her side and knelt by her, worry in his eyes.

"Are you all right?"

Katy nodded then gasped. "Sasuke, go back! Kakashi's stuck in the wonder ball thing!" (A/N: Another thing, courtesy of Naruto Abridged! I don't own it thought. Just borrowing some things.)

Sasuke turned around to see Zabuza kick Naruto so hard, his hitai-ate came off. He looked quickly at the water surface to see Kakashi trapped in the water prison created by the real Zabuza and held there.

"Everybody run! Take Tazuna and run!" yelled Kakashi from his prison.

Team 7 stared at Kakashi with fear.

"He won't come after you!" he reassured them. "He has to stay with me! And he can't manipulate the water clone if its too far away from him!"

Both Katy and Sasuke scrambled to their feet. They watched as Naruto charged at the clone to grab his hitai-ate but it kicked him like he was a playground ball. Naruto rolled back to Sakura and Tazuna. Sasuke grabbed Katy's wrist and ran back to where the rest of the group were.

"Hey, you over there! The guy with no eyebrows!" Naruto shouted.

Zabuza glared at him but Naruto didn't back down.

"You better put me in your Bingo book! Be sure to say I'm the future Hokage of Konoha!" He quickly tied his hitai-ate back on. "Naruto Uzumaki! Ninja of Konoha!"

Zabuza kept glaring at Naruto. "You're pretty full of yourself, runt! Do you guys really think you can beat me?"

"I told you guys to run!" Kakashi yelled. "Your only job is to protect Tazuna and Katy, remember?"

Naruto looked at Tazuna and Katy, a question in his eye. Tazuna got the message. "Go get him, kids!"

"And make sure to rescue Kakashi while you're at it," Katy piped in. She stared at Sasuke, a grin on her face. "_Be careful, Sasuke-kun. I don't want to think about how my brother was killed by a guy with no eyebrows!"_

Sasuke nodded and stepped beside Naruto and Sakura.

"Listen, I've got a plan!" Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"You mean teamwork?" Sasuke whispered back. He already knew what the plan was but had to say his lines.

Zabuza laughed like he had just heard a funny joke. "Still playing ninja, huh? Don't you brats ever learn?"

"We won't lose to you!" yelled Naruto.

"You won't win. You kids haven't even killed anyone before," said Zabuza coldly. "When I was your age, my hands were already stained in blood."

Katy shivered. She was starting to remember what Zabuza's history was. To say the least, it was brutal.

"Now I remember! You're Zabuza...the demon!" Kakashi hissed from his prison.

"So you've heard of me?" Zabuza chuckled.

Naruto asked Kakashi about the graduation exam after he mentioned it. Kakashi explained that the Academy students had to kill each other to pass. The students studied together and ate with each other, only to die at their comrade's hands. Then the village had to change their ways when a boy, who was not even a ninja nor a student, had killed over one hundred students. Katy thought it was horrible to do that.

Sasuke never saw it coming. As quick as a flash, Zabuza's clone jabbed him with his elbow and punched his face with his fist. He slammed Sasuke onto the ground and stepped on his chest. Katy gasped.

"Sasuke-kun!" Both Katy and Sakura screamed.

Sasuke winced as he felt blood spurt out of his mouth. He looked up to see Zabuza start to reach for his sword. "Now you die!"

"You wish!" Naruto quickly made a hand sign and a gang of Narutos surround the clone. Then the Naruto clones dog piled on the enemy clone, aiming for the head. During this, Sasuke quickly escaped just as Zabuza swung his sword in a circle. The clones vanished, leaving only the real Naruto. Naruto quickly reached into his backpack to pull out a folded giant shuriken. "Sasuke, heads up!" He threw the weapon to Sasuke.

Sasuke caughed the weapon, smirking as he knew what to do.

_This is going to be fun._

With a snap of his wrist, the weapon became a giant shuriken in all its glory.

"Demon Wind Shuriken, Windmill of Shadows!" Sasuke leapt into the air, above the clone's head. he threw the shuriken, aiming for the real Zabuza. Zabuza grabbed the shuriken just in time by its ring but was shocked for a second to find another shuriken underneath the first. He quickly jumped up and the shuriken soared beneath him.

"Nice try," said Zabuza, runing back to Kakashi.

Katy didn't see Naruto throw a kunai at Zabuza. She ran over to Sasuke, a smile on her face. "_Good job, Sasuke-kun! I knew Milady's training would help out or you wouldn't be able to do that!"_

_"But Anko didn't teach me how to do that,"_ Sasuke mentioned.

Katy waved it off. She turned her attention back to Kakashi and Zabuza's fight. She felt like squealing like a fan girl but didn't. She was so amazed. Here she was, watching the fight with her own eyes! Many fans of Naruto would just die to be in her place right now. Sasuke acted the same mentally but not the squealing part. He just wanted to gain his Sharingan already so that he could do what Kakashi was doing too.

The fight soon ended when two senbon needles hit Zabuza in the neck. He crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

"Your prediction came true," a voice said from above.

Katy and Sasuke looked up to see a boy with long black locks and a mask like the ANBUs covering his face. They knew who it was.

"_Isn't that Haku?"_ Katy whispered to Sasuke.

He nodded.

Haku stared straight at the two. He then grabbed Zabuza's body off the ground. "Now I must dispose of him...This body holds many secrets..."

Then he disappeared as quicky as he came.

Kakashi replaced his hitai-ate over his eye. "We should get going now," he said in a cheerful tone like none of the fights ever happened and Zabuza dying. He took only one step before his body swayed to the side. Then he fell face forward onto the ground.

Everyone rushed over. Katy sighed, shaking her head. "_He's going to get kill one day if he continues to use Obito's Sharingan like that."_

Sasuke nodded in agreement. The Sharingan doesn't work well with a non-Uchiha and can bring a lot of physical stress.

"Sensei, are you all right?" Sakura asked Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled humorlessly.

"That's what I get for using too much Sharingan."

---

A/N: Ugh...Too tired...from typing chapter. God, I've become lazy! I mean with typing and writing this story, I mean. This is only chapter 11 while in my notebook, I'm like on chapter 18. But I came to a writer's block with it! Ugh! I don't think summertime is helping my story skills very much.

Anyway, I'm typing this so that I don't have to do that over the weekend! For those of you who are living in America, you can all understand why I can't update because of the Fourth of July holiday! Woot! Last year sucked because only me, my brother, his girlfriend, and my mom got to light fireworks. I enjoyed it because I just liked lighting up the fireworks. But this year, me and my family from a nearby city are going to Las Vegas! Yes! I get to play in the arcades all I want while my adult family members go gamble. Sometimes my mom get lucky with it like my aunt. Last time my mom won, she gave me a hundred bucks! So I love going to Las Vegas. The bad news? We're driving there. For six to ten hours. Stuck in a full car. Doesn't that sound fun? (Note the sarcasm?) But while I'm in the car, I might end up typing a few things like for Red clouds and Uchiha fans. I'm on chapter 6 and have yet to finish it!

So I'll do that. So please review! No one except for one person (thank you, theduckoverthere!) reviewed for Red clouds and Uchiha fans and I want people to review for this one as well as that! Please review!

-Twilit angel


	12. New training

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto! I only own the awesome Katy Rivera!

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 12

The rest of the way to Tazuna's home, Tazuna had to carry Kakashi there. Luckily the house wasn't that far away. Once they arrived Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, took charge as soon as she saw Kakashi's condition. She laid him down on a futon in the room near the kitchen and everyone sat around it.

"I didn't know the Sharingan can make you tired like that," Sakura commented.

Kakashi smiled wryly. "Yeah, well. Nothing I can do about that."

Tazuna chuckled, wiping away any sweat. "Thanks to you, we should be safe for awhile."

"So who was that kid in the mask?" Sakura asked.

"He's a tracker ninja from the Mist. They call them the undertaker squad."

"_Yeah, right. Haku's actually his acomplice,_" Katy muttered under breath. Sasuke elbowed her to make her shut up. She glared at them before turning back to the explanation.

"That's why corpses must be completely destroyed," Kakashi was saying. Sasuke glared at Katy. She made him miss the whole explanation. "So their secrets are never revealed." Kakashi closed his eyes and whispered, "No sound, no smell. That's how a ninja dies."

Silence followed after that sentence. Sasuke was surprised that Katy was quiet for once. Right now, he thought that she would be commenting on how stupid that sounded. But she was actually looking serious, staring at the floor in thought.

Katy was actually thinking about what Kakashi just said. Although she loved the whole idea about ninjas, it was the fact that they were supposed to be cold and were supposed to die unnoticed was just pissing her off. No matter what the coldest ninja says, they still have emotions and a heart. When they were younger, did they not laugh? Did they not love? Did they not have friends and families? Ninjas just dying unrecognized was stupid. Especially if they were criminals.

The mood of the room was ruined when Sakura opened her mouth.

"So he's going to cut up Zabuza and throw away the peices? Yuck!"

Katy mentally sighed while Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. There went that mood.

A little while later, everyone just sat around the room as Kakashi was dozing off. They didn't know what to do since they didn't want to disturb the silence. So they did what they could: just dazing out.

Sasuke was glancing around the room, bored. His eyes sweeped past Sakura and Naruto and slowly stopped at Katy. he would have widened his eyes if he didn't think Sakura would and could glomp him. The sight he saw brought shock throughout his body. Katy was sitting with her knees slightly drawn to her chest and she was staring at something on her lap. As Sasuke studied closer, he could tell it was a book. But not just any book. This certain little book had an orancge cover with a man chasing a woman printed on the frount. Katy stared at the book, a curious expression on her face.

_She didn't...!_

He looked at her side to see Kakashi's back pouch sitting there. Tsunami had it taken off so that Kakashi could lay down on the futon comfortably. He was shocked to see it open slightly.

"Katy," Sasuke only said. "Really?"

Katy glanced up, blinking in confusion.

"What?"

He pointed at the book. Naruto and Sakura, who were listening, turned to see the book on Katy's lap. Both blinked before they made stunned expressions.

"Did you really have to see that book?"

"It's not my fault!" Katy hissed, closing the boo,. Then she put the book back in the pouch. "_Plus you know I wanted to see this book ever since we came here."_ she added. "_It's not that bad either. A little bit descriptive and perverted but it's okay overall."_

Sasuke shook his head before turning away.

"_Pervert."_

She stuck her tongue out at him. She stretched out her legs and saw Naruto and Sakura giving her a weirded out look. Katy gave a look that said What-are-you-looking-at? to them. They turned away, still weirded out.

Kakashi suddenly jolted awake. "Something's wrong," he stated.

"Like what?" Naruto asked.

"Usually the undertaker squads get rid of corpses on the spot."

"So?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

"Don't you get it, Sakura? How did that boy get rid of Zabuza's body?"

"How should I know? He took it with him remember?"

"Right. But he only needed Zabzua's head to prove that he killed him." Kakashi gazed up at the ceiling in thought. "And what about his weapons? Very unusual to say the least."

"_Pst! Sasuke, say your line!"_ Katy whispered at Sasuke.

Sasuke tried to look astonished at the information.

"No way!"

"There's a very distinct possiblity." Kakashi sighed.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Tazuna asked with confusion.

"Zabuza," he replied. "We think he's still alive."

_No! Really? We had no idea!_ Both Katy and Sasuke thought sarcastically. Even if they didn't have the knowledge of the evnets, they could have figured it out earlier.

"But you said he was dead, sensei!" Sakura shrieked.

"You checked to make sure, remember?" Naruto added.

"He looked like a goner to me," Kakashi said. "But that boy probably put him into a deathlike trance." He explained to them that the undertaker squad are supposed to know about the human body. He also suspected that the boy, who Katy and Sasuke secretly knew as Haku, was his accomplice. Both kids tried not to roll their eyes. Wasn't it obvious? Kakashi finished by declaring that the genin would train as he recovered.

Sasuke was excited at the prospect of training. He was going to learn how to tree climb with chakra now! He didn't this techniuqe yet since Anko never showed him how to and he was to ask her.

Just then, a little boy in overalls and striped hat on his head entered the room.

"Inari! Where you been?" Tazuna asked, joy in his voice.

"Welcome home, Grandpa," Inari quietly said. He ran over to Tazuna and hugged him. Then he shyly hid behind his grandfather's back.

"Where are your manners, Inari? Say hello to our guests," Tsunami reminded her son.

Inari peeked over everyone. "But Mama! They're going to die!?" he said.

"Wh-What did you say!?" Naruto yelled.

Katy saw Inari's eyes shift and suddenly, he looked mature beyond his years. "You can't fight Gato and win," he simply stated.

Sasuke saw Naruto beginning to fume with anger. "How do you know?" he scoffed. "I'm gonna be a hero someday, a Hokage! That Gato guy is no match for me!"

Inari's eyes widened before he snorted in disgust. "There's no such thing as a hero."

Naruto glared at Inari. "You brat! You take that back right now or else!"

"Leave him be, Naruto," Katy told him.

"Yeah! He's just a little kid!" Sakura snapped.

"Go home if you don't want to die," Inari said. Then he ran out of the room. Naruto stood to his feet and followed him, leaving a silent room behind.

Sasuke and Katy stared at where the two left. Katy felt sorry for Inari since she knew what it was like to lose someone you love right in front of you. After all, it happened last year. Sasuke wasn't fazed though. So what if Inari lost his father right in front of him? Sasuke had supposedly witnessed his entire _clan's _death, courtesy of his brother's Mangekyou Sharingan. He thanked Kami he couldn't remember that part of his past otherwise, he would remember the mental torture he endured. Anyway, Inari had to stop being so emo and get over it.

Both of them had different opinions on this matter but they forgot about it as Kakashi told them they woudl train soon.

---

Later that day, Kakashi took his students out into the forest by Tazuna's house. Katy decided to tag along and watch since Tazuna wouldn't be working until the next day. She felt slightly bad for Kakashi since he head to walked around on crutches.

When they arrived at a clearing, Kakashi began to tell them they (not including Katy) would be learning about chakra control. Sasuke already understood what they had to do but it couldn't hurt to listen again, right? Sasuke listened as Kakashi explained they had to learn how to change their chakra flow in the blink of an eye. Kakashi then demonstrated how the tree climbing excercies would be done. The genin were amzed at how he hung upside down by his feet.

"That's so cool!" Naruto said, awed. "I want to do that!"

"It's tricky, thought," Kakashi said down to him. "You just need the right amount of chakra to stick to the trunk. Even vetran ninja have trouble sometimes." He pointed to his feet. "The soles of your feet are the two hardest places to focus your chakra on. But if you can learn to do that, you can learn to do anything."

"That's pretty cool, Kakashi-san," a voice said above Kakashi. In the branches of the tree, Katy carefully dropped down to Kakashi's branch and sat by his feet below.

"Hey! How did you get up there so fast?" Naruto accused.

"I climbed up the tree. I wanted to go see the top of the trees and its pretty far up there," Katy replied. She looked down at Kakashi, grinning. "I wish I could do that. It would be easier to climb up trees."

"I suppose if you learned how to be a kunoichi, you could do that," Kakashi said.

"Maybe..." She trailed off, her eyes staring off into the distance. Sasuke wondered what she could be thinking.

"Can we practice now?" Naruto impatiently said, bringing Katy out of her thinking.

"One more thing: A ninja can't stop fighting just to fix his chakr. He or she must adjust his chakra on the fly in the heat of battle."

"So that's why we're climbing trees?" Sakura asked.

"Yup! It's the best way to learn about chakra control." Kakashi threw three kunai at the ground near their feet. "Climb as high as you can and stick the kunai into the trunk of at that spot. Each time you go up, move the marker a little higher, okay?"

"This is going to be easy!" Naruto grabbed a kunai. Then he imitated the sign Kakashi used and concentrated. He dashed up the tree and had taken one step on the trunk and flopped down to the ground.

Now it was Sasuke's turn. He focused on sending his chakra flow to his feet. When doing that, he tried to run up the tree but his feet didn't stick to the trunk. He only took a few steps before he fell down next to Naruto.

Katy started to laugh at the pair.

"Haha! You guys suck at this!"

Sasuke and Naruto grumbled, picking up their bodies off the forest floor before hearing a familiar giggle in one of the trees.

Sakura waved down at them. "This is pretty easy!"

Katy laughed harder, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "You guys got beat by a girl!"

"Shut up, Katy before I come up there and push you off," Sasuke threatened. She only laughed harder.

"_You won't be able to for two days, remember?_" She said in between laughs.

He glared at Katy before returning to the task at hand. Sasuke would not give up until he mastered this. He tried a couple more times to try climb the tree, determined.

After Katy was done laughing, she sat with her back against the trunk and one of her legs swinging in the air. She watched the two boys attempt to climb the tree. She noticed that Sasuke's marker was about halfway as high to where she was sitting. Naruto's marker was still low but it was gradually rising up the tree. A smile formed on her lips.

_Those two are probably going to be the best ninjas in their village in the future. They're improving so fast!_

In the series, Naruto was the most improved of the Rookie nine. He went from a dead last to a top rate ninja! That was impressive in her eyes. But with Sasuke, she wasn't sure if he would be as good as his fifteen year old series character if they prevented the curse mark. Actually, Katy didn't even know what would happen to him if he was fifteen! She guessed he would get stronger in the village.

As Katy continued to muse about Sasuke's possible future, she failed to realize the branch she was sitting on was slowly sagging. The branch was weak and after supporting both Kakashi and Katy's weight for a while, it weakened to the point of breaking. Slowly but surely, the branch began to crack and split from the trunk.

Katy snapped out of her daze at the sound.

_What was that?_

Just as she thought that, the tree branch broke off entirely, bringing down Katy as well. Katy's eyes widened as she was suddenly falling. A scream left her throat and gravity pulled her down to the ground ten feet below.

Sasuke was about to concentrate his chakra flow but stopped when hearing Katy's scream. He had just turned his head to see Katy fall into the bushes below where she was sitting. he stopped his practicing and rushed over to the bushes with Naruto following behind him.

Although he was on crutches, Kakashi had beaten all three genin to the bushes. He looked through the opening at the top to see Katy on her side, her eyes squeezed shut. Sasuke came over and was worried when seeing her.

"Katy, are you all right?" he asked. He moved through the bushes and knelt by her side.

Katy opened one of her eyes, glaring at him. "Oh, I'm just fine, Sasuke. Life is just swell and great," she said sarcastically through it was strained. "How do you think I am!? I just fell from a ten foot drop onto the ground! Do you _think_ I'm all right!?"

Sasuke ignored her snappy attitude and tried to get her to sit up. The moment he did, Katy screamed in pain and her right hand gripped her left forearm.

"Ow, that hurts!!!"

"Sasuke, can you get her out of the bushes so that I can chekc her?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded and tried to pull Katy up to her feet. Again, she cried out in pain and fell to the ground. This time though, she was holding onto her right ankle.

"Are you kidding me?!" she said, wincing at her left arm as it moved. She looked up at Sasuke. "I can't get up and I swear the author hates me," she muttered under her breath at the last part. (A/N: No I don't!). Sasuke didn't hear the last statement.

Sasuke sighed. He had to carry her out now. He knelt down to Katy's side and carefully scooped her up bridal style. Katy bit her lip to not cry out in pain. Sasuke stepped out of the bushes and set Katy down by Kakashi. Kakashi knelt down as best as he could and started to examine Katy.

"Sensei, is she all right?" Sakura asked, genuinely concerned.

Kakashi poked at Katy's ankle which she winced at. He shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Sakura. Katy-san appears to have broken her left arm and might have sprained her ankle."

"So then is she going to be all right?" Naruto asked.

"She could be but we need to take her back to Tazuna's house and get a doctor to check her."

Katy tensed at the word 'doctor'. Crap. She didn't want a doctor to see her.l

"Sasuke, I need you to carry Katy-san back to the house and you can go back to training," Kakashi told him.

Sasuke hesitantly nodded. He didn't want to return to training until he knew Katy was taken care of. This was her first time ever breaking a bone so he was really concerned. He picked up Katy again. She cursed at the pain the coursed through her. He frowned as he followed Kakashi back to the house.

Katy pouted at how she was carried. This was really weird to be picked up that way. As she was carried to the house, she regretted laughing at Sasuke and Naruto. She believed thios was karma getting back to her.

_Karma's a bitch then._

Karma just hated her.

---

A/N: So there's the long awaited chapter! Sorry I took awhile getting this up but my stupid brother kept hogging my laptop and he's gone right now so I can type this. And sorry if there are mistakes because I'm currently watching some Naruto and Kingdom Hearts abridged series episodes and I'm too lazy to check back for the mistakes. I keep laughing right now. XD For those of you reading and thought Katy was going to work on the bridge, sorry to make her get hurt so that she can't work on the bridge. I didn't want her to work on the bridge because I have some plans in the future for her if she's hurt and stuff.

On another note, I would like to say that I am currently in love with the Naruto pairing SasuHina! I used to hate it before but I have seen the light! Why didn't I realize how good of a pairing these two are together even if they hadn't met each other as much? Seriously!

That's pretty much it! So please review and keep supporting this story!

-Twilit angel


	13. Walk in the forest

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto-kun! I own Katy though.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 13

Kakakshi was right about Katy's injuries.

When they arrived at the house, Tsunami immidiately called for the village doctor. The doctor wasn't very skilled in Sasuke and Katy's eyes. The doctor was a middle-aged man who didn't seem very wise. When the doctor first examined Katy, he was stupid enough to grab her broken arm roughly to examine it. Katy threw a bunch of curses in English at the doctor as he did so. Sasuke glared at the man for doing that.

The doctor had finished examining Katy's injuries and confirmed the sprained ankle. He said he couldn't tell how broken Katy's arm was since the village didn't have an official X-ray. The doctor then told Tazuna and Tsunami that Katy couldn't do any heavy physical activites for awhile. Her ankle was swelling but as long as she didn't move around much, it would get better in about two or three weeks. For her broken arm, the doctor had Katy use a sling until she could get it properly checked.

Katy wasn't sure if she should be ecstatic or just sad. On one hand, she didn't have to work on the bridge because of her injuries. On the other hand, she couldn't leave the house (or bed for that matter) until her ankle was better. She chose the latter.

Sasuke was relieved in a way. He was glad Katy wasn't too badly hurt but was still worried. He had no idea how badly fractured her arm was. He wasn't sure if it was a hairline fracture or a really bad one that could possibly require surgery. He knew he was overreacting with that last one but still. he was worried for his almost sister. He didn't want to return to training after hearing of her injuries but Katy told him he had to for the series. Sasuke replied he didn't give a damn about the series. What Katy said next convinced him otherwise.

"Don't give me that bullcrap that you don't care! I _know_ you care about what happens. If you change anything before the exams, you'll change something critical and if you do, I'll never talk to you again!"

Sasuke thought that last part was rather childish for her to say but considered what she said. He learned from a story he read called, _The Sound of Thunder_, that if you changed one insignifigant little thing from the past, that little change will build up over time until it changed into something tremendously big. he didn't want something bad to happen so he reluctantly went back to training.

---

Days started to pass by.

Since Katy was confined to bed during most of those days, she was being bored to death. There was nothing she could do! She couldn't bring out her Ipod (which she brought along) in fear of Tsunami or Inari would enter her room nor could she read any of the Naruto volumes she brought along with her. She didn't want to draw either. So for those days, she was bored to death.

Luckily for her at night, Sasuke kept her company. He was still doing his tree climbing training even if he got it. He wanted to test how far up he could go in the trees. Although he would be exhausted, he still found time to talk to Katy at night. The two would talk about the randomest things (in English, of course) from what school used to be like and what was different. But they came upon on subject both wondered about.

"_Hey, Sasuke,_" Katy said one night when he came in to keep her company.

"Yeah?" Sasuke sat down on her bed, sitting by her to look at her.

"_Do you think..."_ Katy bit her lip and stared down at the covers. "_Do you think we'll ever get home?"_

Sasuke wondered what brought this on. When he saw the sadness in her eyes, he knew. "_You miss your mom, don't you?_" he asked. It was more of a statement though.

Katy nodded. "_I'm all she has left, Sasuke. After Kuy got into that accident..._" she trailed off. It was hard for her to mention that. "_I can't break my mom's heart. It's already broken enough. I don't want it to shatter with my disappearance."_

"_I know. I miss my mom too._" Sasuke wished he could see her again so badly but how? They were transported here to the Naruto world by a bright light. How could they return home?

"_I want to go back home, Sasuke," _Katy whispered. "_I miss Mom. But how are we going to get back?"_

"_I don't know,"_ he truthfully answered. "_But I promise I'll find some way for us to get back."_

Katy glanced up at Sasuke's face then held out her pinky.

"Promise?"

Sasuke gave a soft smile and hooked his pinky around hers.

"Promise."

He intended to find some way home so they could see their mothers again someday. But for now, he had to keep with the present in mind first before thinking of the future.

---

On the sixth morning of Naruto and Sasuke's training, Katy had enough. She couldn't take sitting in bed doing nothing anymore! She had-no-_needed_ to get out! She didn't care if her ankle was still hurting. She needed out and she needed it now.

Katy decided to sneak out by means of the window by her bed. She had to wear sandals since her ankle was still healing. Luckily for her, the room was on the first floor so she didn't have to injure herself more than she should. Once she was out, she limped her way into the forest. Katy tried hard not to cry out in pain as she took a step each time. It hurt just to walk! Why did she risk her ankle again?

Katy limped towards where Naruto was supposedly training. She figured to go see how he was doing since she was out on a walk. When she reached the clearing, she found Naruto sleeping peacefully on the forest floor. Smiling, she decided to wake him when another girl beat her to it. The girl was pretty with her pale skin as white as snow and long dark hair but Katy knew better.

The girl had woken up Naruto and he was mezmirized by her beauty. Katy heard Naruto ask the girl why she was out in this hours and she replid she was picking medicinal herbs for her sick friend. Katy decided to leave the two alone and tried to leave when she tripped over a root with her bad ankle. She yelled out in pain and fell to the forest floor, clutching her sprained ankle. She heart footsteps coming near her. Turning slightly, she saw Naruto and the girl staring at her in surprise.

"Katy-chan, whet are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I wanted to go out for a walk," Katy replied. "Can you help me please? I don't think I can stand."

Naruto nodded and picked her up and carried her to his clearing. Setting her down on the grass, Katy sighed, rubbing her ankle. It didn't hurt as much as it had at first but it still noticealy hurt.

The girl knelt beside Katy, looking at her ankle. "How did you get these injuries?"

Katy laughed nervously. "I...um...fell out of a tree."

"Are you alright? Does it hurt?" It sounded as if the girl, who was Haku, was genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine, I guess. The doctor told me my ankle was sprained so I would be better in a few weeks. Can't say the same for my arm." She held up her slinged arm.

Haku gently touched her sprained, swollen ankle. Katy sighed in relief. His cold hands felt good on her hot skin. "You ankle seems to be near healing. It might be fine in a week or so."

"That's a relief." That meant she didn't have to be cooped up longer than she should anymore. Katy turned to Naruto. "So how's your training going?"

Naruto grinned, sitting beside her. "It's gong great! I'm getting stronger and one day, I'll have something to prove!"

"Are you training for yourself? Or for someone else?" Haku asked.

Both Naruto and Katy quizzically stared at him. "What do you mean?" they asked.

Haku giggled. "Do you both have special people in your lives?"

Katy tilted her head. Special people...There was her mother and Sasuke, of course. They were the ones closest to her.

Naruto still didn't get it so Haku tried to explain it to him.

"When you have a special someone you want to protect, you will become stronger."

"But," Katy started to say. She had a curious expression on her face as she stared at Haku. "If you had a special someone...would you do anything to protect them?"

"Of course."

"Even if you have to die?"

Haku hesitated to answer. "...Yes. I would do anything to protect them, even die."

"But what if that special person you had didn't want you to die?" Katy questioned. She stared at the ground, a dazed look on her face. "What if that person got sad and wished _they_ protected you? What would you do if that person only wanted you to be happy if they were to die for you?"

Haku seemed shocked by all of those questions. Naruto seemed to be thinking about it.

"I...I suppose I would stay alive for their sake," Haku quietly said.

Naruto nodded. "Me too. I would try to be happy for their sake."

Katy smiled, happy with those answers.

Haku abruptly stood to his feet with his basket in hand.

"I'm sorry for interuppting your practice. You will get stronger you know," he told Naruto. "Hope we meet again soon." He started to walk away, then stopped and looked over his shoulder. "By the way, I'm a boy."

Katy laughed at Naruto's bewildered reaction. She already knew Haku was a boy.

"There's no way that was a boy! He's girlier than Sakura!"

"Better not let her hear that," Katy giggled. "She's not going to be happy if she does."

As Naruto started to freak out, Katy wondered if Haku was really going to live if Zabuza asked him to. Guess she had to wait to find out.

---

Alright, so there's the update! I just wanted to update this before I go on vaction to Las Vegas for the second time this summer. My cousins from Canada drove down her to America for the first time so my parents decided to take them to Las Vegas then Los Angeles and maybe San Diego then we drive back to my place. Yeesh, that's going to be alot of driving. I just can't believe that I'm going on a trip so close to when school is starting. My parents do this all the time too. Two years ago, we went on a trip to Canada for my cousin's baptism. It was so close to when school was starting that I ended up missing the first day of school! That really sucked.

So that's it. Please review because last time, I ended up getting only five reviews! Five! I just hope I get more.

-Twilit angel


	14. Fight on the bridge

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Katy I do.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 14

Two days had passed since meeting Haku in the forest. Katy was in trouble for sneaking out when she was supposed to be resting. Sasuke silently scolded her for it. She didn't tell Sasuke that she met Haku in the forest. She wanted to keep that a secret.

The day finally came when Kakashi would return to guarding Tazuna. Katy decided to go with them as well since she had no problem walking with her slight limp. Sasuke told her no. It was going to be dangeroust out on the bridge that day and she could get hurt. Katy was frustrated with Sasuke saying no so she asked Kakashi instead. He said yes. Sasuke had glared at Kakashi when they left the house that morning.

Katy punched Sasuke on the shoulder with her good hand. "_Knock it off Sasuke. What's so bad about me being on the bridge?"_

_"You could get killed,"_ Sasuke hissed at her.

"_But if I stay with Sakura and Tazuna, I won't get hurt. It's you I'm worried about."_

"Hn." Sasuke didn't really care about what would happen to him sson. He was just worried that Katy would get extrememly hurt. It was bad enough she had a somewhat broken arm and with that limp, she couldn't run away at a fast pace. Those facts only furthered his worrying.

The group of five arrived at the bridge only to be shocked. There on the ground were four men in work clothes. Sasuke could only guess they were unconsious but he could be wrong. They went over to the men. Tazuna knelt down to one who was barely alive.

"What happened?"

"D-Demons," the man weakly said.

Kakashi looked up at the sky. "I'll say this for Zabuza. He has perfect timing."

At those words, the clear blue sky turned dull and very gray.

"Here he comes!"

Sasuke and Sakura were right behind Kakashi, assuming their battle positions.

"This is his Hidden Mist jutsu, right?" Sakura gasped.

"Kakashi, long time no see! Still babysitting the brats, eh?" a voice said pentrating through the fog.

Sasuke shivered in anticipation.

"Oh, that little boy is trembeling again! Poor thing," Zabuza sneered.

Zabuza clones popped up all around them. Sasuke smirked. He was going to have fun with this.

"Sure I'm trembling," he retorted. "I'm trembling with anticipation."

"Go for it!" Kakashi encouraged.

Sasuke dashed right through the clones with a speed Katy didn't know he could reach. He left nothing but puddles behind and took his place back in the formation.

"So you saw through the water clones," Zabuza said. "You have a worthy rival, Haku."

Katy looked around and saw Zabuza emerge from the mist. Haku was right behind him. Katy was saddened at the sight of Haku. She knew he would die today but she felt he shouldn't. He was a great person! He was so kind and caring...Even if it was for Zabuza he didn't deserve to die.

"So I was right" Kakashi said calmly. "That boy was Zabuza's ally."

"He has some nerve!" Sakura snapped. "Showing up here after all he's done." She took an angry step forward but Sasuke stopped her.

"This one's mine." Sasuke smirked. He had been waiting to fight Haku for awhile now. Why wouldn't he? It is during their fight that he gains the Sharingan. As long as he gained his kekke genkai, he didn't care if Haku died.

"You put on quite an act," Sasuke told him. "You're an excellant actor. You want to know something? I _hate _actors."

"Sasuke-kun is so cool!" Sakura sighed adorably.

Katy rolled her eyes. Now was not a good time to be a fan girl. Plus, Sasuke was acting right now. Why did he have to say that?

"Impressive," Haku told Zabuza. "I know your water clones have only one tenth of your strength but what he did was quite amazing."

"Enough babbling! Let's do this!" Zabuza growled.

"Yes sir!"

Haku vanished from where he was. Seconds later he showed up in front of Sasuke. Sasuke went at him with a kunai but Haku stopped it with a senbon.

"I don't really want to kill you," he quietly said. "Why don't you just leave?"

"Because you're after my friend I have to protect," Sasuke calmly said. He was really calm on the outside but he was really worried what could happen to Katy.

Haku might have been shocked with his answer for he paused. "I was afraid you would say that," he said. "But you'll have a hard time keeping up with me. I've already set up my next two attacks."

Sasuke was surprised. "Next two attacks?"

"First, we have water all around us. Second, your kunai is blocked by m senbon. You have only one free hand to defend yourself."

Sasuke noticed that Haku had one hand free also. He wondered what would happen and scanned through his memory of what would happen. He remembered it and cursed when seeing Haku perform hand seal after hand seal. He was perfroming that needle jutsu!

"Secret jutsu: A thousand needles of death!" Haku stamped his foot on the ground. The water rose up in hundreds of long, sharp needles. Sasuke shut his eyes and concentrated on sending his chakra to his feet. The water needles flew down at him from every direction. Haku leaped out of the way. But when the water splashed down again, he was shocked to find Sasuke gone.

It turns out at the last minute, Sasuke had leapt tinot the air before the needles hit. Now he had dissappeared, out of Haku's sight. He looked around and jumped out of the way in time to dodge a shuriken aimed at his head. When he landed, he heard a mocking voice behind him.

"You're pretty slow. Way slower than I thought you'd be." Sasuke had a kunai aimed at his back. He knew he was understimating Haku right now but he was in the moment. "Better watch out. Now I'm the one calling the shots."

Without warning, he attacked with his kunai. Haku manged to dodge the blows but it wasn't easy. Sasuke kicked Haku where it counted. Haku flew across the bridge and landed at Zabuza's feet.

Katy winced at the kick Haku recieved. She knew that Haku was working with Zabuza to kill her and Tazuna but...something told her she should be concerned about what happened to Haku. She didn't know why though. Her heart just told her Haku desereved a second chance but her mind told her he was going to die soon as it should happen. Katy didn't know which to agree with.

"I'm really sorry about this," Haku said, standing to his feet. He performed a handsign with both hands. An icy mist shrouded his body. Sasuke cursed as Haku said, "Secret jutsu: Crystal ice mirrors!"

"No!" Katy gasped. She watched in horror as the water on the birdge sprang into the air and turned into solid ice. It looked like mirrors. The mirrors surrounded Sasuke, keeping him in its icy prison. "Sasuke!"

Haku ran and placed his hands on one of the mirrors. He was instantly sucked in. Sasuke found himself looking at every mirror with an image of Haku in it.

Katy was filled with worry at the sight of the mirrors. She knew Haku would never kill Sasuke but still she was scared. Sasuke was going to get really hurt.

_Shoot! What am I going to do?_ Sasuke thought looking at mirrors. Then Haku spoke.

"Now I'll show you real speed."

Haku leaned out of the mirror and aimed his senbon. Sasuke felt a sharp pain on his arm. Next thing he knew, flashes of needles slashed at his body. He screamed in agony and everyone heard it.

Katy squeezed her eyes shut at his scream. Hery body wracked with shivers to the point she almost fell to her knees. She hated the screams of pain that emitted from her best friend. It hurt her and she felt like crying. She was so upset that she didn't notice Naruto arrive at the end of the bridge.

After Naruto arrived, Sasuke stood to his feet and inspected his wounds. He had a bunch of scratces on his body but none of them were deep. He was glad that Haku was innocent or else he would be dead by now.

_Now what to do..._Sasuke decided that he didn't want this to go on longer or else he will be in a world of pain later. However, his plans were ruined when Naruto ran into the prison of mirrors.

"Yo, Sasuke! I'm here to save you!" Naruto said excitedly.

"You idiot! Now we're both screwed!" Sasuke snapped. He felt like killing the blond right now. because now he had to save the both of them.

"Hey, I went through hell to get here!" Naruto retorted. "Can't you say thanks?"

Sasuke was going to say no when he spotted Haku in a mirror. He instantly grabbed for a kunai but stopped himself when hearing a voice.

"Over here."

Sasuke didn't turn. He already knew there was another Haku image.

"Wh-What's going on here?" Naruto stuttered. Sasuke ignored him, too annoyed at Haku at this point.

_That's it! I'm just going to melt the ice!_

And that's what he did. He jumped into the air and made a handsign. "_Fire stlye: Fireball jutsu!"_

Fire burst from his mouth and shot at the mirrors. The flames rose higher than the mirrors, engulfing them. When the flames cleared, however, the mirrors were still intact as if nothing happened.

Sasuke was surprised that his jutus didn't work. He thought it would! Then he almost smacked his forehead. His character did this in the series too! He should have remembered it wouldn't work. What kind of genius was he if he didn't even remember that one small detail?

"It will take more than that to melt them," Haku said. He raised his senbon and trew them at Naruto and Sasuke.

In just seconds, both boys were riddled with scratch wounds. Sasuke was feeling the pain of every single one but Naruto's wounds wasn't serious. He stood up and gaped at the mirrors, Haku's eyes staring back at him. "Are they all clones?" he yelled. "Where's the real guy?"

Sasuke didn't hear Haku as he struggled to his feet. The senbon on his body stung like the time Mari made him take acupuncture thearpy with her but worse. Much worse.

Naruto crouched next to Sasuke, looking wiped out from trying to break the mirrors with his clothes.

"I've had enough."

"Do you give up then?" Haku asked.

Naruto took a deep breath and struggled to his feet. Sasuke amazed he still had the energy to stand. "It can't end like this! I have a dream to fulfill!"

Haku paused. Sasuke wondered what he could be thinking about. "I don't have the heart of a true shinobi," he confessed. "I don't really want to kill you. But if you come at me again, I will."

_No he wouldn't._

Sasuke knew Haku was too innocent to do so.

"You have dreams, I have mine," he continued. "I have a special person in my life. My dream is to make his dream come true." Haku gripped his senbon. "If I have to become a true ninja to do that I will kill you both."

Katy heard every word Haku said. She didn't quite agree with that idea. She was always wondered why people would do anything to help someone they loved dreams come true like Haku to Zabuza. She also wondered why Haku would give up his life so easily. In the series, he said he only saw himself as a tool for Zabuza to use. She disagreed with that when hearing that. People weren't tools. They were living beings! They had a heart, emotions, and needs. Everyone had this so they were equal. Why would people like Haku, who was so kind, consider him a tool? Was it because of his past? Sure, he had a bad past but other people had worse like Kakashi and Gaara for example. They had horrible pasts but they turned out fine (Not so much for Gaara, though)

_Haku shouldn't give up his life so easily._

Even if it was for Zabuza.

As Katy thought deeply about this, she failed to notice that Zabuza was out of sight. When feeling a prescenece behind her, she snapped out of it and turned around. She froze when seeing Zabuza there. He reached for his sword and Katy squeezed her eyes shut.

Suddenly, she felt herself pushed to the ground. In surprise, Katy opened her eyes and glanced up to see blood gather on Kakashi's shirt. At the sight of the red liquid, she felt herself grow dizzy and her vision blacked out.

---

Over at the crystal mirrors, the boys weren't faring well. They were starting to grwo tired from dodging Haku's attacks. Naruto was laying on his stomach, almost knocked out, and Sasuke was crouching beside him, catching his breath. Both had senbon needles sticking out of them like porcupine.

Sasuke knew that they were backed into a croner but he felt calm. _That's it. I've had enough. It's time to end this!_

He stood to his feet and glared at Haku. "You move well. But this is the end for you."

Haku instantly bombarded them with senbon needles. Now the needles were moving at a fast pace, Sasuke knew that. But as the needles came, he saw them move slower as if he was looking at a slow motion video. Sasuke grabbed Naruto and dived to the side before the needles hit. They slid across the icy floor until they came to stop. Then Sasuke glared at Haku.

Haku seemed to gaping at Sasuke's eyes. Internally, Sasuke cheered with joy.

_Hell yeah! I gained the Sharingan!_

_"_So you have a Kekke genkai as well," Haku calmly said. "I'd better wrap this up quickly."

Haku attacked again but this time, Sasuke was well prepared. He could now dodge his attacks and see Haku's movements more clearly. Sasuke was thankful for the Sharingan. He desperately needed it right now.

"This is it!" Haku yelled, jumping oiut of a mirror.

Sasuke knew what was about to happen next. He groaned at the thought of the major pain he would feel later but he had to do this.

As Haku flew at Naruto, Sasuke quickly placed himself between the two. Haku had thrown senbon at the moment and the senbon hit Sasuke's body. Sasuke bit his lip at the merciful pain and held in the scream. When seeing Haku stare at him in shock, he punched him in the chest. Haku flew back and landed, sprawled on the ground.

"Sheesh Naruto," Sasuke muttered. "You're such a pain in the-"

"Sasuke, you did it!" Naruto yelled, looking over at his direction. Then he gasped in horror at the sight of Sasuke.

Sasuke grew annoyed at the look the idiot was giving him. "Stop looking at me like that, Dobe."

"Why, Sasuke?" Naruto started to say. "Why did you-"

"How should I know?" Sasuke lied. He knew _exactly_ why he saved Naruto. Although he would never admit it, he was starting to see that Naruto could be his best guy friend and his first one too. "I used to hate you, you know," he admitted.

"So why did you rescue me then?" Naruto asked, in near tears. "You should have minded your own business!"

Sasuke felt a liquid in his throat and coughed. He saw the liquid was blood. "I don't know, okay?" He scowled. "I-I just moved." He felt his energy suddenly leave him and he fell backward. Naruto caught him in time and gently lowered his body on the ground. Sasuke felt like being dramatic at this point because of the sad aura Naruto emitted. So he said those famous lines but with a twist.

"I wanted to kill that snake before I died," he choked out. "I thought that dream would keep me alive..." He looked up at Naruto's glossy blue eyes. "Don't you dare die, Naruto..."

Sasuke felt himself getting sleepy and he let his heavy eyelids fall.

---

Katy floated back to conciousness but kept her eyes shut. She heard someone sobbing and felt herself being held. Opening her eyes, Katy saw Tazuna's face staring down at her. His eyes widened in happiness and relief. "You're awake!"

Katy groaned. "What happened? Where am I? Who's crying?"

"You gave us a scare there when you were unconsious. We're still on the bridge," Tazuna told her. "And Sakura's crying over..." His eyes glanced past Katy.

She followed his eyes and had to slightly turn her head to see Sakura on the ground, crying on Sasuke's chest. Her eyes and had to slightly turn her head to see Sakura on the ground, crying on Sasuke's chest. Her eyes widened when seeing Sasuke have scratches and senbon all over his body. Katy was reminded of the first time he tried to train himself. She motioned her body to signal Tazuna to set her down by Sasuke. He complied.

Tazuna placed Katy down by Sasuke's other side. Then he stepped back to get the gils some space.

Katy stared at Sasuke's face, which was peacful, and ignored the blood as best as she could. Her eyes traveled to the weeping Sakura and she sighed. With her good hand, she brought it to Sasuke's face and placed it on his cheek.

"Sasuke...wake up."

He didn't move.

Katy frowned and lightly slapped him on the cheek.

"Come on, Sasuke. Stop being such a drama queen," she whispered to him.

He still didn't move.

"You brought this on yourself." She sighed and leaned down to his ear. Her mouth was near his ear and screamed, "WAKE UP, YOU TEME!!!!"

Sakura and Tazuna stared at her like she was crazy. That look changed to surprise as they heard a groan emit from Sasuke. He opened his eyes and glowered at the grinning Katy.

"Must you scream near my ear?"

Katy's grin dropped to a smirk.

"Yes. Yes I did."

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura's eyes filled with tears of joy. "Oh, Sasuke-kun!" She hugged him tightly.

Katy held back a laugh as Sasuke looked uncomfortable. Although Sakura was hurting him at this point, Sasuke unconsiously blushed a bit. He had a weird feeling as Sakura hugged him and it was good.

Once Sakura was doen, she helped Sasuke and Katy stand to their feet. Katy looked ahead where she could see Naruto and Kakashi standing in front of Gato's gang. She also saw Zabuza with his mangled arms but she also saw one person that shouldn't have been alive by now.

"Oh...My...God," was all she could say.

Sasuke and Katy watched as the villagers arrived and drive out the gang. When that was done, the four walked over to where everyone else were. Sasuke saw Kakashi pick up Zabuza and expected him to place Zabuza next to Haku's body. To his surprise and shock, Kakashi carried Zabuza to a very alive Haku.

Sasuke and Katy glanced at each other, sharing a shocked expressions. Haku was alive. How did that happen?

Katy limped towards Haku. Since his mask was smashed by Naruto, she could plainly see that Haku was weeping over the now ceased Zabuza. She placed her good hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her sympathetic face and Katy thought he looked like a heartbroken girl.

"I'm sorry about Zabuza, even thoughh was assigned to kill me," she said.

Haku shook his head, wiping away his tears. "Don't be. And you were right about what you said in the forest. Zabuza-sama didn't want me to waste my life for him and be happy when he was gone." Tears brimmed his eyes again. "He also told me he was thankful for me."

Katy sat beside Haku and gave him a hug. Haku seemed surprised at first but he hesitantly hugged her back, crying on her shoulder. Katy patted his back. She needed to comfort Haku in his mourning state. It wasn't easy losing one of the closest people to you. She should know that. She already lost one herself.

---

Two weeks have passed.

Tazuna was able to complete the bridge with no more difficulty. Since Gato was gone, the village started to return to normal before he ever appeared. Katy's ankled fully healed in time for the day the Konoha ninja and Haku and Katy were to return home. It was deicded that they would bring Haku back to Konoha seeing as how he had nowhere to go. When this idea was decided, Katy also decided that Haku would come to live with them. Sasuke argued no but Katy had started to beg him to the point where he said yes. Haku was happy to accept the offer.

Sasuke and Katy had also discussed how Haku lived when he should have died. Katy guessed it was because of how she told Haku that Zabuza wanted him to be happy in the forest. Sasuke wasn't happy she did that because now they had one unnecessary character around. Katy argued Haku important and was happy he was alive. Sasuke let the arguement drop but still didn't think Haku necessary.

The day that the Konoha crew were leaving, the whole village came bid goodbye. Katy was touched at the part where both Naruto and Inari started to cry. Sasuke thought they were babies. After that, they began to walk across the bridge towards home.

As Sasuke asked Sasuke to go on a date with her and he rejected, Katy thought of something.

"Hey, Haku?" she said

Haku turned to her.

"Yes, Katy-san?"

"Can I ask you something?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's really important." Katy became very serious. "Are you...by any chance...gay?"

Everyone stopped walking to gape at Katy but each expression was different. Kakashi was surprised, Sakur was disgusted, Naruto looked like he was going to laugh, Sasuke was weirded, and Haku was shocked.

"Um, no," Haku quietly said, a blush crawling to his face.

Katy groaned. "Ah man! I was hoping you were!"

Naruto burst out laughing while Sakura had a twitch on her temple.

"Why would you want him to be gay?" she questioned. "That's weird!"

"Because I want a gay best friend! Sasuke isn't gay though I doubt it," Katy muttered under breath. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Why would you want a gay best friend?"

"Think about it: You have a guy friend who won't harrass you, yoiu get to talk about boys, _and_ you get opinions on things! It'd be awesome to have a gay pal!"

Haku blinked in confusion. "So why do you assume I'm gay?"

Katy fidgeted and blushed. "Well...You look like a girl and stuff so I just thought.."

He sighed. "I'm not gay. Here, I'll prove it."

Haku stepped in front of Katy and lifted her chin with his hand. Katy was about to ask what he was going to do when she felt warm lips on her own. Sakura gasped, Naruto's jaw dropped, Kakashi's eye crinkled in amusement and Sasuke? His reaction was beyond pissed. Before she knew it, Haku pulled away and smiled.

"I kissed a girl and I liked it. So I'm not gay."

Katy blinked and realized what just happened. Her face turned cherry red and screamed, "That was my first kiss!"

Sasuke was down right pissed by now. Haku just kissed his best friend/almost sister! And it was her first kiss! He didn't care if Haku was comign with them. He was going to make sure Haku finally joined Zabuza. His eyes flashed red as he glared at Haku. "You are so _dead._"

Haku saw the killing intent in Sasuke's eyes and laughed. Then he ran down the bridge with Sasuke trying to strangle him to death.

---

Ugh! I finished the chapter! It was so long! And I made a major change in the storyline now that Haku is alive. At first, I thought about killing him but I figured that he was pretty nice so I just made him live. You people should thank me.

Anyways, I'm sorry if updates are going to be slow. School just started and all and it's not going to be as easy as last year. So forgive me if updates are slow. Also, can I ask you guys what you think about this story and my writing in general? I got a review on one of my stories in another account (I have two accounts because I used to share one with my best friend till she got her own so I kept it) and it got a flame review. I was really proud of the story and a bit sensitive to anything that people say. Now I don't know what to think about my writing. I've sorta lost the spirit to continue that story even though I finished making the rest of the chapters. So can I ask you what you think about any of my writing? I will accept any and all construtive critisim! I know I'm acting like a wimp about this but I've never had many people that I know read my stories. I could have if my brother didn't find one of my early writings for a Naruto character (Yue from my sleeping beauty story) and made fun of me for them. I cried for a whole day and this was when I was eleven!

Anyways, please review! I need five reviews to continue!

-Twilit angel


	15. Moving places

Disclaimer: Don't own no one but Katy.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 15

"Ow!" Katy yelled, dropping a box full of her clothes. The box landed on the floor with a _thump!_ She held her still healing arm in pain.

At the yell, Haku came rushin into her bedroom and sighed. "Katy-san, I told you that you didn't need to help."

Katy pouted as Haku picked up her box. "But I just wanted to help moving all of the things to Sasuke's old place."

"You're not supposed to carry heavy things, remember?" Haku smiled at her. "We wouldn't want you to continue having that broken arm, would we?"

"No," she droned.

"Good. Stay here and don't help." Haku walked out of her room with the box to put near the front door.

Katy sighed, saddened to feel useless, and sat on the edge of her soon-to-be-old bed. It seemed like it was only yesterday that they decided to move to the Uchiha estate.

Actually, it _was_ yesterday.

It was just yesterday morning that the Konoha crew arrived back in Konoha. Kakashi dismissed everyone to go home but advised that before Sasuke, Katy, and Haku met with the Hokage about Haku and his living conditions, the boys had to take Katy to the hospital. Her left arm was broken and they should find out how serious it was. Katy argued that she was fine and didn't need to go to the hospital. Sasuke knew she wasn't fine and only said that to get out of going. He and Haku had to drage Katy to the hospital as she thrashed and screamed. She shut up when Sasuke threatened to take away her Ipod. She was silently fuming on the way there.

Once at the hospital, they filled out Katy's form and waited until it was their turn to be seen. Katy tried not to remember she was at a place she hated with a passion and tried to stay calm. It didn't work and only grew worse when the nurse called her name. She considered bolting out of the room but Sasuke gave her the Run-and-I'll-hunt-you-down look. The three were taken to a room to wait for someone to give an X-ray. A little while later, a nurse came in and led Katy to the X-ray room. Once an X-ray was taken, she went back to the room.

The doctor came shortly in with Katy's X-ray. He explained that Katy _did_ have a fracture-a small one- but it was starting to heal where she only needed to wear an arm brace. Katy and Sasuke sighed in relief at that. They thought that she was seriously hurt. The doctor put on an arm brace on Katy's forearm and told Sasuke and Haku that Katy was not to carry anything heavy for the next few weeks. The two nodded and checked out of the hospital to go to the Hokage tower.

The three arrived at the Hokage tower. The secratary took them to the Hokage's office, seeing as how he was expecting them. He was sitting at his desk with his hands folded when they entered.

Katy bowed with respect to the old man. "Hokage-sama. It's nice to see you again."

"And it is nice to see you as well, Katy-san," the Hokage replied. His eyes wandered over to Haku. "Are you the young man from the Land of Waves Kakashi has told me about?"

Haku nodded and slightly bowed. "My name is Haku. It is a pleasure to meet you, Hokage-sama."

"As am I. Now then, you wish to take up residence here in Konoha?"

"Yes and become a ninja as well."

The Hokage nodded. "I see. I have heard of your abilities from Kakashi. He says you posess a _Kekke Genkai_?"

"Yes. I can turn water into ice as well as control it."

"I see..." His eyes studied Haku, noticing the fear as he mentioned he had a bloodline limit. "You should be happy to know that here in Konoha, we have many clans that have _Kekke Genkais_ as well."

Haku brightened up. "Really?"

"Of course. One example is the _Sharingan_." The Hokage gestured over to Sasuke, who scowled. "You won't have to hide your talents at all in the village."

"Thank you," Haku said. He was smiling brightly. It made Katy happy to see him smile.

"You will be a fine ninja. About your living arrangements-" Katy cleared her throat and the Hokage turned to her. "Yes, Katy-san?"

"Actually, Hokage-sama," she said. "I was wondering if Haku could live with us."

The Hokage seemed surprised. "You wish for Haku to live with you?" She nodded. He looked at the papers on his desk. "I suppose he could but I'm not sure if you have room for all three of you at your apartment."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He was right. There wasn't any room at their place for Haku. How were they going to live together when they didn't have room.

Katy grinned. "I know. Now I'm asking if we could move to the Uchiha estate."

Haku and Sasuke gawked at Katy. Sarutobi was shocked at first but then became curious.

"You wish to move to the Uchiha estate?"

"We can, can't we? I mean, Sasuke should have the property to himself since he's the rightful owner now. Right?"

He considered it in thought. "I suppose so..." He trailed off, thinking about what to do.

Sasuke continued to stare at Katy. He could not believe that Katy was asking to move to the Uchiha estate. His former home...Why would she request to live in a ghost town where a whole clan died? She had to be crazy.

_"I'm not crazy, Sasuke. I'm being smart,_" said Katy, turning her eyes to him.

"_You are if you're suggesting we live in a place where no one has lived there for five years since the massacre,"_ Sasuke growled out. He did not want to see where blood was spilled so carelessly.

"_But think about it, dude. Ever since we've lived here, not _once_ have we gone to that estate! It's your old home too!"_

_We haven't?_ Sasuke wondered. It was true they hadn't gone there since they have been there. He guessed they forgot to with all of the things going on right now.

"_And remember we can check out that secret meeting place your brother told you about?_" Katy added.

That got him right there. Sasuke wanted to see what that place held ever since they first saw it in the manga. Now he had the chance to see it for himself. He was unconsiously nodding, thinking about it. Katy grinned at that.

"Alright. You may move to the Uchiha estate," the Hokage decided. He opened his drawer and started to dig through it. As he did so, he had to take out several things. The three teens just stared as he pulled out a case of cigars, some medications, and (Katy and Sasuke weren't surprised) an Icha Ichanovel. After digging through for awhile, he finally located what he was looking for, a set of keys with the Uchiha crest keychain. He handed them to Sasuke. "There. Those are the keys to unlock the estate gates. The small key opens the clan leader's home where you will be staying."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow while Haku blinked in confusion.

"Wait...You mean where _Sasuke_ used to live?" Katy asked.

He nodded. "It was his parent's home."

Sasuke stared at the small key, sadness apparent in his eyes. Katy frowned. She knew how much Sasuke wanted to meet his parents before. He really wanted to. But now that he knew his parents died when he was seven, he must have been crushed. How would he react to his old home?

After that, the three left the tower and started towards the apartment. They decided that the next day they would pack up their belongings and got to the estate for the first time. That night, Haku had to sleep in Sasuke's room while Sasuke slept with Katy. Sasuke didn't want to give up his bed but Haku decided to sleep with Katy. He was pissed that Katy was fine with that. So he gave up his bed to protect Katy. Haku teased that Sasuke had a crush on Katy but that was not the case at all. They were just like siblings.

So now here they were packing up their things and heading towards the estate. Well, Sasuke and Haku were the ones packing and piling. Katy wasn't allowed to carry anything.

Katy walked to the front door where some boxes were piled. A few of those were going to storage since they contained kitchen appliances, etc. They wouldn't need those at the house.

Sasuke and Haku walked to the front door, carrying the last of their things. They grabbed the small pile that were their belongings and headed out the front door. Katy followed but stopped at the doorway to stare at the plain apartment. This place was her first home away from home. She was going to miss this place.

A smile formed on her lips. She grabbed the doorknob and shut the door.

The three began their way to the Uchiha estate. As it turns out, the estate was at the edge of twon. Sasuke and Katy knew that the Uchihas were forced there after the Kyuubi incident. After all, they were the only ones capable of controlling him. Because the estate was at the edge of town and their old apartment was at the center of the village, they were forced to walke there. By the time they arrived at the front gates of the estate, it was already noon. (They left in the morning)

"Wow," was all Katy and Haku could say at the sight of the place. The whole place was huge in their eyes. Past the wooden boards that were there, they could see inside the multiple homes were inside. There were also streets there. The whole estate looked like a tiny town of Uchihas with the clan symbol printed almost everywhere.

Sasuke and looked inside as well but wasn't as awed as them. He only felt sadness and sympathy. The streets were so bare and the houses were a wreck. This place felt so..._abandoned._

_To think a town this big is so devoid of life..._

"Time to head inside!" Katy declared. With her good hand, she grabbed a wooden board that blocked their entry and pulled. The wood was so rotten from the weather and bugs that it came off with a _snap!_ Katy trhew the board to the side and continued onto the next one.

After many board pulling, the boards decreased in number until their road was clear and unblocked.

"Good job, Katy-san," Haku commented. Katy wiped her forehead of sweat and smiled at him. Sasuke merely frowned at the exchange.

"We should go find the clan leader's place," Katy said. She walked into the estate, the boys behind her.

They walked through the estate with nothing but the wind around them. Katy turned her everywhere, glancing at everything. She could hardly believe that the estate looked like this. In the series, everything was so clean and neat, ever after the massacre. But here, there were weeds growing around, the houses fallin apart. In some places, there was dried blood. Katy shivered. This place was exactly like a ghost town.

_Yikes! I have to clean this place up or I'll never get used to living here._

Sasuke felt the same way. This place was his old home. He had to fix it up to how it once was.

After thirty minutes of searching, the three finally found the clan leader home. Katy and Sasuke stared at it. This house seemed to be the only one that was still in living condition. Sasuke walked up to the front door, keys in one hand while the other held the boxes. He put the ky in and unlocked it. Then he opend the door.

Katy and Haku were right behind him when Sasuke opened the door. They both coughed as dust flew. Sasuke entered the house to find it was incredibly dusty. The air was stale as well. He made no comment as he placed the boxes down and took off his shoes.

Katy made a face, steeping inside and taking off her shoes. "Jeez! We're going to have to clean first before we go to bed tonight."

"You're right," Haku agreed. He placed the boxes by the door then took off his shoes. "We better get started before it is dark."

"We should do that first. So Sasuke, can you find-" Katy stopped to see Sasuke was gone. She blinked. "Sasuke?"

_He must be looking around._

She walked onto the wooden floor, which creaked in response. Ignoring that, Katy began to explore through the house, searching for Sasuke. She passed by rooms, poking her head in to see if he was there. All she found was furniture and dust. After searching almost all the rooms, Katy found him in the kitchen. He was standing by the wall near the doorway, staring at something.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," Katy said, walking over to him. Sasuke didn't answer; he just stared at the wall. She frowned and looked to see what he was staring at. Her expression softened as she saw what it was.

On the wall hung a picture frame. The photo inside was of Sasuke and his family of four. Sasuke's mother and father stood side-by-side, smiling (Katy thought Fugaku was smiling). Mikoto was giving a one armed hug to a six year old Sasuke, who smiled, while Fugaku's hand was placed on a twelve year old Itachi's shoulder, who had a hint of a smile. The picture was taken in front of their house during the daytime.

Katy glanced at Sasuke to see his expression. It was blank, devoid of emotion. For a brief second, Katy thought Sasuke looked like the Itachi in the photo. She sighed and shook his shoulder.

"Come on, Sasuke. We have to clean this place before it gets dark."

Sasuke nodded. Katy left the room and he was right behind her. Before he left the room, he took one last look at the family photo and smiled. Then he left the room to go clean.

---

Okay, there's the chapter! I've been finding more interest in updating this story again, though I don't get many reveiws. Fine by me. Anyway, I have to tell you guys who read _Red clouds and Uchiha fans_ that I'm not sure when I'll update it. For some reason, everytime I think about updating it, I just can't seem to. Sorry about that.

Ugh, I'm tired so just please review!


	16. Photos and memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but Katy owns herself. Well, not really. She's actually mine. Katy in the background: I heard that!

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 16

Katy wiped her forehead, smiling, as she put away the last of the clean blankets away. "And done!" she declared.

Both Sasuke and Haku sighed in relief as they collasped on the living room couch. Katy joined them, falling down on the seat next to Sasuke. All three of them were exhausted to the bone.

For the past three days, they spent all day trying to clean their new home. It was tought what with the house and backyard being big and with there being dust all over the place. The three had to seperate jobs if they wanted to get done early. Sasuke was to wash all of the dirty clothes and art out the blankets, Katy was to clean and sweep each room of dirt, and Haku was to clean and fixt the backyard. It took three days but they finally finished. The whole house was spotless from head to toe.

"I can't believe it took three days to clean this house," Haku said, stretching his tired limbs.

"I know! I thought we would never get this place cleaned." Katy yawned widely. She glanced at Sasuke. "Why the hell did your parents have to have such a big home?"

Sasuke shrugged. How was he supposed to know. He couldn't remember them.

Katy stood to her feet, stretching her body. When she opened her eyes, they wandered over to the bookcase in the corner. As usual with books, her eyes sweeped over the titles-most of which were ninja books-until she came upon one near the very bottome of the bookcase. Curiousity filling her, she walked over to the bookcase and knelt down to the ground to grab the book. Once she grabbed the spine of the hardcover, she pulled it out. The book was big and red. Katy might have thought it was a boring book if not for the words on the front written in gold lettering. She read the title and gave a squeal.

Sasuke and Haku nearly fell off the couch at the sound. Ninja instincts kicking in, they rushed to Katy's side, alert. "What's wrong?" they asked.

"Look what I found!" Katy held up the book with a grin so they could see the title. Sasuke paled while Haku giggled when they read it.

_Itachi and Sasuke's baby pictures_

Katy opened the book and giggled. "Aw! Look how cute you were, Sasuke!"

Haku sat beside Katy and began cooing at the picture. Sasuke reluctantly sat on Katy's other side. He took one look at the picture before he flushed pink. It was a picture of him when he was one, sleeping on the couch and holding onto a stuffed weasal. He was also sucking his thumb. Katy took the photo out of the plastic sleeve and turned it to the back. She read the writing on the back aloud.

" 'Baby Sasuke napping with Ita-chan'. Aw! You had a stuffed weasal neamed Ita-chan!"

Sasuke's cheeks were pink, growling at Katy. God, this was embarrassing! Why did Katy have to find his baby pictures?

Katy replaced the picture and took out another. Her eyes went wide before she burst out laughing. Haku raised an eyebrow and grabbed the photo. He took one look as well before he started to laugh too. Sasuke wondered what they were laughing about and glanced at the picture. He flushed red. In the photo, it was a one year old him wearing a frilly pink dress with bows in his hair. He was pouting cutely in the picture.

Sasuke turned to the back of the photo and frowned. " 'When Mommy dressed Baby Sasuke into Baby Satsuki,' " he read aloud. That only made Katy and Haku laugh harder.

"Baby Satsuki?" Haku laughed, tears in his eyes. "That's so precious!"

"Your mother was a genious Sasuke-Oh! I mean, _Satsuki._" Katy laughed harder at the name.

"Shut up!" Sasuke growled. He put the photo back and flipped through the book. He stopped at one photo. His eyes widened and he took the photo out. "No. Way."

Katy and Haku stopped laughing long enough to ask, "What?"

He turned the photo to them and Katy and Haku's eyes widened.

The photo was not a picture of Sasuke but of Itachi. He was five in the picture, by what they could tell. That wasn't what shocked him. The fact that he was wearing a white dress with a veil and holding a bouquet of flowers was what shocked them. Katy squinted and saw in the background was a girl-five as well- wearing a little black suit. Itachi was scowling at the camera while the girl smiled cheekily.

Sasuke read what was on the back. " 'Itachi and Mitsuki (made up character) getting married. Itachi the bride, Mitsuki the groom.' "

"Who's Itachi?" Haku asked.

"Sasuke's older brother." Katy shook her head, disappointed. "Dude, I lost all respect for your brother."

"Same here." Sasuke saw Itachi as a cool man who killed thousands of people. Now that was ruined because of the picture. He replaced the photo and began to look through the rest of the photo album.

The three spent the rest of their time looking through the book. They found all sorts of pictures of Sasuke and Itachi. The pictures ranged fom when they were babies to around the time of the massacre. There were photos like Sasuke playing in the mud, Itachi learning his first jutsu, Sasuke sleeping in Itachi's bed, Itachi and Sasuke napping on the couch together, and Itachi trying to give Sasuke a cookie who was turning his head away to not eat it. At times, there were photos that were just plain hilarious like both Itachi and Sasuke were covered in flour when they tried to help their mother bake and one where both Itachi and Sasuke were wearing dresses. Katy and Sasuke guessed that Mikoto loved to dress them up as girls. (Who wouldn't? They're so feminine that they could be mistaken for girls!)

However, they soon came upond a photo that just plain confused them.

Katy was picking through the photos when she came upon a strange one. She raised an eyebrow, slipping the photo out of the plastic sleeve. "What the?"

"What is it?" Haku asked. He leaned over to see the photo and raised and eyebrow as well. "Huh."

Sasuke leaned over to see the photo. His eyebrow raised as well. The photo was of him, age five, and Itachi, age ten, hiding in a closet. What confused him was that he and Itachi were holding onto each other for dear life as tears cascaded down their squeezed eyes. "The hell is this?" he uttered.

"Dunno." Katy turned over to the back. " 'Itachi and Sasuke's first shared fear.' The hell?" She turned back to the picture. "First shared fear? What does that mean?"

Sasuke stared at the photo intently. First shared fear? He and Itachi had a shared fear? As he continued to stare, he felt his head starting to hurt. It began to hurt so badly that he had to clutch his head in pain. He barely heard Katy ask what was wrong as images flashed through his head.

---

_Five year old Sasuke and ten year old Itachi were in Itachi's room, playing with a few of Sasuke's toys. It was one of Itachi's breaks from being a genin and they were both looking forward to it. They were disappointed, however, when they had nothing to do that day. _

_"Nii-san, I'm bored!" Sasuke announced, putting down a toy kunai._

_Itachi sighed, placing a stuffed dog down. "Me too, Otouto."_

_"So what do we do?"_

_He shrugged._

_"Itachi, Sasuke! Can you come down here for a second?" Their mother called from the living room._

_"Coming!" Itachi and Sasuke stood to their feet and walked out of the bedroom. They walked into the living room where their mother and father were. Sasuke looked at the floor where there was a small wooden box._

_"Yes, Mother?" Itachi said. He noticed the box as well. "What's that?"_

_"One of your uncles brought back a present for you two during his mission in Suna," their mother explained. "He said it was one of a kind."_

_At the word present, Sasuke smiled happily and raced over to the box like a little kid during Christmas. Itachi was behind him as Sasuke struggled to get the tape off of the box. Itachi decided to help him and ripped the tape off in a fluid motion. Sasuke opened the flaps of the box and threw out the tissue paper there. When all of it was gone, Sasuke's eyes went wide. Itachi looked inside the box and his eyes went wide as well._

_There at the bottom of the box sat a puppet that was as big as Sasuke. It had bright red hair and red eyes with white pain on its face. Red dots were painted on the cheeks which was connected to the corners of his lips of its smile. A creepy smile at that. The puppet wore blue overalls over an orange and red striped shirt._

_"Whoa," the two boys said._

_Mikoto peeked inside the box and smiled. "Oh, that's a cute doll." She picked up the puppet and placed it on the ground. The puppet could stand on its own so it stood up straight, its blank eyes staring at Itachi and Sasuke. They shivered at the look but Mikoto didn't notice. "You two have a new toy to play with now! Make sure you thank your Uncle Maro later."_

_Fugaku stood to his feet. "We should head out now before the store closes."_

_"Where are you going?" Itachi asked._

_"Your father and I have to go pick up something in the village. It might take awhile so you have to watch Sasuke, okay?" Mikoto said._

_Itachi nodded._

_Mikoto kissed both of her sons on the cheek before leaving the room. Fugaku merely nodded and said, "Don't break it."_

_"Yes, Father," the two said._

_He nodded again and left the room as well, leaving the boys alone with the puppet._

_Sasuke and Itachi stared at the puppet. It merely stared back with its red eyes. Sasuke shivered, grabbing his brother's shirt and hiding behind him. "Nii-san, I don't like that puppet. It's creepy."_

_"I agree, Otouto," Itachi said, studying the puppet. It was just creepy how it stood there, staring at them._

_"Do we have to play with it?" Sasuke did not want to play with that creepy doll. It was like it would kill them._

_"No. Let's just leave it."_

_With this agreed on, the boys left the room and returned to Itachi's room, leaving the wooden figure. They went back to playing with Sasuke's toys. After awhile, Sasuke decided to get a snack from the kitchen._

_However, when he opened the door to leave, Sasuke found himself looking into a pair of red eyes. Sasuke fell down to the floor in surprise. Itachi rushed over to see if he was alright. Sasuke nodded and asked, "Nii-san, did you move that puppet to the front of your door?" Itachi shook his head. "Then how did _that_ get there?"_ _Sasuke pointed to the puppet standing at the doorway._

_Itachi looked at his doorway and his eyes widened in shock. "I didn't do that. I was with you the whole time."_

_"Then how did-" Sasuke stopped short. He felt his eyes widen when the puppet took a step forward. Sasuke scrambled to his feet, watching the puppet take another step. "Nii-san...Do puppets do that?"_

_"Not that I know of," Itachi shakily said, eyes as wide as Sasuke's._

_Both of them froze when the puppet reached into its pocket to take out a toy kunai. Although toy kunais weren't as dangerous as the real thing, they still hurt. The puppet stared at them with its creepy smile. Then, without a warning, lunged at them with the kunai first._

_Sasuke and Itachi screamed. Itachi gragged Sasuke and dived to the side. The puppet landed on the pile of toys but quickly stood to its feet, turning to them. Itachi thought it would attack again so he grabbed onto Sasuke and ran out of the room with him. Sasuke looked over his shoulder and screamed. "It's following us!"_

_Indeed, the puppet was chasing after them. Sasuke didn't know how it was moving but it was._

_Itachi looked over his shoulder to see the puppet chasing them and curse. He turned around while pulling out some shuriken he had on him and threw them at the puppet. The shuriken didn't work thought. They only bounched off the wood of the puppet._

_Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, holding onto his brother for dear life. "Use a fire jutsu to burn it!" he yelled._

_Itachi did just that. He made the handseals for a fireball jutsu and small flames shot out of his mouth. The small fireball hit the puppet, engulfing it. The boys sighed in relief. It was wood so it would be nothing but ashes now. But they both tensed up again when the flames disappeared and the puppet was still standing in perfect condition. The puppet ran at them and the boys screamed loudly._

_"It can't be killed!" Sasuke cried._

_"Holy crap!" Itachi picked up Sasuke and ran down the hallway with the puppet chasing after them. Since Itachi was a genin, he was faster than the puppet. When he turned a corner, the puppet was only half way down the hallway. Itachi quickly spotted a closet to the side and shoved Sasuke inside before entering himself. He quickly shut the door._

_Sasuke latched onto Itachi and started crying, but Itachi told him the puppet could hear them. AT the name of that evil puppet, he quieted down, silent tears flowing down his chubby cheeks._

_Both Itachi and Sasuke held onto each other, sitting down on the closet floor, cluttered with blankets and pillows. Sasuke was still crying and Itachi was trying to calm him down. Both boys froze when hearing footsteps closeby. Their breathes were caught in their throats, thinking even the slightest breat would get them found. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, holding onto Itachi tightly, and barely noticing his brother do the same. The footsteps drew closer, each one like thunder. The footsteps stopped just outside the door. The door handle turned, making Sasuke cry again. The door swung open. There was a sigh of relief._

_"Sasuke, Itachi, what are you two doing in the closet?" the voice of their mother said._

_At the sound of their mother, Itachi and Sasuke opened their eyes to see her frowning face. They opened their mouths to say her name but stopped when seeing Mikoto holding a familiar puppet by the arm. They screamed instead, holding onto each other and both started to cry._

_"Make it go away!"_

_"Don't let that thing near us!"_

_"What's going on?" Fugaku asked, coming onto the scene. He was confused at Itachi and Sasuke in the close crying. "Why are they like that?"_

_"I'm not sure," Mikoto said. "I just found them like that. Both of them started crying just now. What's wrong, boys?" she asked her sons._

_"Keep that creepy puppet away from us!" Itachi cried._

_"It tried to kill us!" Sasuke cried._

_Fugaku and Mikoto stared at the puppet. It looked pretty harmless to them._

_"This cute thing?" Mikoto held the puppet near the boys. "It can't hurt a thing!"_

_Itachi and Sasuke opened their eyes to looki into evil red ones staring blankly into theirs. They screamed again, squeezing their eyes shut, crying more than before. They failed to notice that their mother brought out a camera and took a picture of them._

_Fugaku chuckled while Mikoto giggled. At least they knew that both of their sons were afraid of something._

_---_

Sasuke panted, blinking as the image disappeared and the pain in his head vanished.

_What was that?_

Did he just have a flashback of his childhood? That was weird. He only thought that happened in animes, not in real life. Well, he was apart of an anime series so he guessed that flashbacks could happen to him.

A hand touched his shoulder, making him glance up. He saw Katy and Haku staring at him in concern.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" Katy asked. "It looked like you were in pain."

Sasuke nodded. He didn't want Katy to know he actually had a flashback of that photo. It was embarrassing enough with the other photos there. "It was nothing," he told them.

Katy and Haku frowned but let it go. They went back to looking through the rest of the photos. Sasuke looked as well but his mind was occupide with one thought. If he just had a flashback of his childhood, did that mean he was going to remember other things of his past as well?

---

Okay, so there's the next chapter! I had fun writing this one. I moved them to the Uchiha home for a reason and this was one of them. Sasuke has to remember things of his past to understand ther present. Same thing my World History teacher says. He always tells us that to understand the present and future, we must learn about the past. That applies in this story too.

Oh! And did anyone notice why the puppet sounded familiar? It's because I based it off of Chuckie! I was writing this chapter in my notebook and couldn't think of the next part of it like what Itachi and Sasuke's shared fear should be. My friend, who was a horror film kind of guy, started telling me about the Halloween 2 movie that came out and we started talking about different horror film characters like Jason and Freddie and Scream. When I thought of Chuckie, it just clicked in my head. It was perfect to have a puppet that could kill! So I used that in here. Pretty cool, huh? And I don't even like horror films either! They scare the crap out of me. No joke! Like with the cover of the _Grudge_ series DVD covers, I'm afraid of even that. Like this one time, I was sitting in the living room watching TV when my bro and his girlfriend come in with some movies they rented and finished watching. One of them was _The Grudge 3_. My brother threw that one right on the couch next to me and I actually jumped to my feet to get away from it. I was so freaked out.

Bleh, just talking about horror movies scare me! I don't know what to think when I'm going to be watching _Psycho_ in my film class. I'm watching it in the dark too. Uh-oh...

Anyways, done typing and rambling so please review! I'm so close to getting 100 reviews!

-Twilit angel


	17. Encounter with the Suna Siblings

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Sasuke. I own Katy, though.

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 17

It was a few weeks after Sasuke, Katy and Haku moved into their new house did things finally start to get interesting.

Sasuke shook his head in disappointment one day as he saw Sakura carry Naruto back to the village after a mission. The idiot had gone and overworked himself over a simple D-ranked mission. Sometimes he wondered hos Naruto was one of his favorite characters. "Can't you take care of yourself?" he asked aloud.

Naruto started to get mad which, in turn, made Sakura get mad. Sasuke ignored the idiots so that he could go home already.

Kakashi sighed. "Teamwork seems to be suffering lately."

"Yeah, yeah! You're the one ruining our teamwork, Sasuke!" Naruto accused. "Always hogging the spotlight, you teme!"

"That's you, Dobe," Sasuke retorted. He looked over his shoulder to look at him. "If you want me to stop making you look bad then just become stronger than me."

Naruto glared daggers at him. He glared back with the same force. He knew he was acting like a child about this but he couldn't help it. Naruto just pissed him off.

"Okay, that's enough for today. I have to go submit this mission report," Kakashi announced with his nose still buried in his book.

"Then I'm going home." Sasuke began to walk down the street but he wasn't off the hook yet.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, wait!" He looked over his shoulder to see it was Sakura. She caught up with him and flirtingly stared at him in a shy way. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We should do something personal. To improve our teamwork and all."

Sasuke scoffed. When was the girl going to give it up? "I swear you're as bad as Naruto. Instead of flirting, you should practice a jutsu or two. Your abilities are lower than Naruto's."

Then he started to walk away, leaving a shocked and depressed Sakura.

Sasuke walked down the street, thinking about what just happened. Again, the guilt returned with a vengeance as he thought about it. He gritted his teeth against it. Damnit! Why the hell did the guilt always appear after he was mean to Sakura? It didn't make any sense. And why was it _Sakura_ of all people he felt guilty to? Why her only? He would never understand it.

He walked several more steps before he halted. Wait…Why was he heading home right now? Didn't he have to do something first before he headed home? Sasuke thought about it, trying to remember.

_Wait…Didn't Kakashi leave after he saw a bird in the sky?_ He vaguely remembered hearing a bird call from above before his teacher left. And if there was a bird call, then that meant the Hokage was calling them for the Chunin Exams. Sasuke felt his eyes widen slightly. Today was the day when the Sand siblings appeared! And he was supposed to save Konohamaru from Kankuro.

_Damnit!_

Sasuke turned around and dashed back to where he left Sakura. Along the way he picked up two small rocks. When he came near the location, he jumped onto a tree nearby and crouched on the branch. His eyes narrowed at a boy wearing a black suit and face paint on his face, who was raising his fist to punch a little boy wearing a scarf and goggles in his clutches. Before he could hurt the ten year old, Sasuke threw the rock at his hand that held the boy. In surprise, the boy in the black suit, Kankuro, dropped the little boy who was Konohamaru while holding his injured hand.

"Just who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded, sitting in the tree. His eyes glared at Kankuro and the blond haired girl with a large fan on her back who was Temari.

Everyone turned their gaze up to him. Naruto narrowed his eyes and growled while Sakura squealed with hearts in her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Kankuro sneered at Sasuke. "Great. Another brat to piss me off."

"Get lost," Sasuke ordered coldly. He didn't really like Kankuro as much as his siblings since he had to hide behind his puppets to fight. He didn't have anything against puppet users. He actually liked Sasori, who was a puppet user as well. He just thought Sasori was better than Kankuro any day.

"Kyaa! So cool! Get him, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed loudly. He mentally grimaced. He hated it when people squealed over him.

Kankuro glared up at Sasuke. "Hey punk! Get down here so I can kick your butt!" He took off the mummy object off his back which Sasuke knew was Crow (or Karasu for you Japanese folks).

"Stop! Don't use Crow!" warned Temari to her brother.

"Stop Kankuro," came a voice right near Sasuke.

Sasuke felt a chill of fear and excitement go up his spine. Here was the entrance of one of his favorite characters. He glanced to the side to see a familiar boy with red hair and teal eyes. The Kanji character for 'love' was right above his left eyebrow and a gourd strapped to his back. The boy hung upside down by his feet, his cold stare directed at a frozen Kankuro.

"You're an embarrassment to our village."

Kankuro smiled nervously. "G-Gaara, it wasn't my fault."

"Losing yourself in a fight. How pathetic. Why do you think we came to Konoha?" asked Gaara.

Sasuke inwardly smirked as Kankuro squirmed. He was really enjoying this. "Listen Gaara, they started it and-"

"Shut up or I'll kill you."

Kankuro and Temari froze, gulping for fear from their little brother. Sasuke found this sad. They were frightened of their sibling because of Shukaku. Didn't they like Gaara fro him and not the demon? What kind of sibling relationship was that?

"Okay, I'm sorry," Kankuro quickly apologized.

"I'm also very sorry," Temari chimed.

Gaara disappeared from the tree branch then reappeared in front of his siblings in a swirl of sand.

"It looks like we got here too early."

"I know that," Kankuro said.

"Let's go."

"Hey wait!" Sasuke ordered. "Judging from your hitai-ates, you guys are from Suna, right? You maybe allies with our village but it is forbidden for ninjas to enter each other's villages without permission. State your business. Depending on it, we may not let you go."

"You guys don't know, do you?" Temari asked with a smirk. "We're here for the Chunin Exams."

Then she started to explain what the Chunin Exams were. Sasuke pretended he was listening intently. His mind, however, was somewhere else. It was on what she just said.

The Chunin Exams.

It was finally here. The part he and Katy had been anticipating since they first arrived in this dimension. The part they knew they had to change the most. This arc was going to make or break it for everyone's lives and futures, especially his.

Truth be told, Sasuke was nervous about these exams. Katy told him over and over that he had to absolutely avoid getting bitten by Orochimaru. Otherwise, all was lost. That part was what worried him the most. Everytime he thought of the scene where the snake bit him, he could tell it hurt him to the point where he might die when going through the process. Sasuke did not want that to happen. But the problem was _how???_ After many months, he still had no idea on what to do! Time after time he repeatedly told himself he would know what to do when the time came. Now that the exams were near, he couldn't push it back. He needed to come up with a plan soon and fast.

Temari finished her explanation and Sasuke thought it was high time he came down. He jumped down to the street, standing in front of the Suna sibs. He glared at Gaara in particular.

"What's your name?"

"Who, me?" Temari asked.

"No. The guy with the gourd."

Gaara stared at Sasuke coldly. That didn't affect him.

"Subaku no Gaara. I'm also interested in your name."

Sasuke smirked.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Both Gaara and Sasuke stared at each other intently, studying each other. Sasuke thought Gaara looked better in real life than the anime. He guessed all the characters looked better in real life.

The staring contest soon ended when a loud squeal broke through the silence. Before anyone saw what happened, a red and orange blur passed by Sasuke and latched onto Gaara. The kids from Konoha were shocked to see that it was Katy. Sasuke sighed to see she was hugging Gaara while trying not to squeal. But then he became surprised when seeing no sand around Gaara.

_What the heck? Doesn't the sand protect Gaara from any danger?_

Gaara's sand was made to protect Gaara from anything. Any physical contact was stopped by the sand shield. So why the heck wasn't any sand trying to kill Katy?

Sasuke wondered this but came to a conclusion.

_Katy isn't dangerous. She can barely hurt a fly when it was bothering her. The sand probably doesn't see her as a threat._

"Oh my gosh! You ook like a really cute panda, Panda-chan!" Katy excessively squealed while hugging Gaara. Temari and Kankuro were gawking at the sight. They could tell Gaara might kill her by the killing intent he emitted.

"Get off of me," Gaara ordered coldly. He was also glaring at Katy but she didn't notice.

Sasuke, during another time, might have laughed at this. At this time, he didn't. Gaara could actually kill her if he didn't intervene.

"_Katy, let go of Gaara,"_ he told his friend. Katy didn't hear him. "_Before I go and destroy your Ipod."_

"_You wouldn't dare!"_ Katy gasped, releasing Gaara. She spun around to see Sasuke's neutral face. He wasn't joking. She ran over to him and was on her knees in front of him, clutching his shirt and tears in her eyes. "Please, no, Sasuke-kun! I beg of you! Please don't kill Risa! She's too young to die!"

"Then stop embarrassing yourself and stand up." Sasuke sighed. It was still strange to know Katy affectionately named her Ipod Risa. She was acting like such a drama queen over it.

Katy pouted and stood to her feet. Glancing over to where the Suna Sibs were, she found them gone. Her pout deepened.

_Aw! I wanted to play with Gaara!_

"K-Katy-chan!" Everyone turned to see Haku running toward them. He stopped in front of them, panting and sighin in relief. He smiled at Katy. "I thought I lost you there for a second."

"Hey, Haku!" Naruto walked over to him, tilting his head in confusion. "Where've you been today? I though you were on our team!"

"I had to take the day off so I could take Katy-san to the hospital, Naruto-kun," Haku explained. "She had to have her arm checked to see if I was fully healed."

Katy made a face at the word hospital. It had been five weeks so it was time to check if her arm was healed. Haku had to take the day off so that he could take her. Katy argued she could go by herself. Both Sasuke and Haku doubted it. They thought she would run so she had to have someone escort her.

"So how is it?" Sasuke asked.

Katy smiled brightly. "I'm fully healed. That means I can go back to work at the dango shop again!" She had to take time off because she couldn't serve heavy things. Tsubaki, sympathetic for Katy's injury, was happy to let her have time for her arm to heal. Sumi, however, wasn't as sympathetic to her so Katy still had to work at the clothing store.

"Hey, Katy-chan?' Sakura said. "Who's Risa?

Katy and Sasuke tensed slightly. They forgot they didn't know about her Ipod yet and they weren't going to. Haku didn't even know about it yet! Katy laughed nervously. "Oh, just someone I know," she answered.

"Jeez, then the teme is really heartless if he's killing someone you know," Naruto said with a frown.

"Yes, he is." Katy glared at Sasuke.

He rolled his eyes, stuck his hands in his pockets and without a word, started to walk away.

Katy frowned at her friend's actions. Couldn't he at least say goodbye to his teammates first? With a sigh, she and Haku bid goodbye to Naruto and Sakura then chased after Sasuke. They caught up with him easily.

"_Can't you be a bit nicer to your friends?_" Katy said sternly.

Sasuke shrugged. Friends? He didn't consider his teammates his friends at all! They barely knew him at all so they didn't deserve that title yet. Not until he could fully trust them-which he didn't right now.

"_Sasuke, you could at least try. They could be your ticket to not getting bitten by Pedo-snake. The Chunin Exams are in two days. And you don't even have a plan so you could at least turst Sakura and Naruto."_

Internally, Sasuke sighed. He knew that Katy was right. Naruto and Sakura might be his only ticket to not getting bitten by Orochimaru. He didn't have a plan, after all. Soon he might or could have a plan, but time was running out. It was either trusing his teammates…his friends or getting bitten and feeling used, power-obsessed, and most of all, all alone. His trust, life, and future was all on the line along with many other's futures.

Sasuke had to learn how to trust his friends or all of their plans in the future might be lost in the world.

---

Okay, that took me awhile to update. School and all that jazz have been running my life. That, and my brother took my laptop which had this already typed but I wanted to update soon.

Yawn! I'm tired of typing. I'm also typing this while I'm watching Bleach. Yes, I've been getting into it though not as much as Fairy Tail or Naruto. I'm not even watching them all in order. I'm actually watching the Zanpaktou arc in sub while in dub, it's when Ichigo, Uruyu, Chad, Rukia, and Renji are going to rescue Orihime from Aizen in Hueco Mundo. I know, I'm not supposed to do that but I get bored.

Anyways, review please!

-Twilit Angel


	18. Start all over

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I own Katy.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 18

The next day, Team 7 were waiting for Kakashi on the usual red bridge. Sasuke leaned against the railing while Sakura and Naruto were complaining about Kakashi being late. Haku was staring at the water below the bridge, a smile on his face.

Sasuke was starting to feel impatient. Where the hell was Kakashi. He wanted to get this explaination over with so he could go home and figure out what he was going to do about the second part of the exams. He needed to think long and hard on it. It was hard to concentrate what with his annoying teammates yelling and all.

Just when Sasuke thought he would lose his calm demanor, Kakashi finally appeared. He was crouching on the top of the red arch that was near the bridge.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at him.

"Sorry. I got lost on the road of life," was the lame excuse Kakashi gave them.

"Liar!"

Sasuke sighed while Haku giggled. They were still trying to get used to Kakashi's lateness and excuses.

Kakashi jumped down and stood in front of the team of four. "I know this is really random," he said, "but I've nominated you four to enter the Chunin Exams."

Three of the four genins were more than surprised at the news. Sasuke was unfazed by this. He already knew.

Sakura regained her speech again as she exclaimed, "What did you say?!"

"If you tink that makes up for-" Naruto started to say. He was interuppted as Kakashi pulled out four pieces of paper.

"Here are your applications."

Everyone grabbed an application. Sasuke stared down at the paper and scanned through it. The paper explained all about what the exams were about and they had to fill out information on themselves like who were your teammates and such. Sasuke was too absorbed with reading the application that he didn't notice Kakashi telling them they had to choice of taking the exams or not.

"If you decide to take the exams, turn in your application at the Academy by four o'clock p.m. tomorrow," Kakashi said. With all of that said, he disappeared.

When he was gone, everyone decided to go home. Haku was trying to decide on whether or not he wanted to enter while Sasuke was trying to plan out what he was going to do about tomorrow. Naruto already left for home and now Sakura was alone on the bridge.

Sakura's eyes stared down at her application nervously. She wasn't sure if she should enter the exams or not. After what Sasuke said to her about doing the least and being the weakest, she wasn't feeling very confident about it. She sighed at the thought as her feet started to carry her towards town.

_Maybe Sasuke-kun's right. I _am_ weak and I do the least during missions._

She knew she was weak for a fact and if she went through the Chunin Exams, she could die or drag the team down. She didn't want that to happen. But then how were the others going to get through the exams without her? They were supposed to be a team and do everything together. So she had to take this exam even if she was reluctant to.

Sakura began to walk down the market street. None of the villagers seemed to noitce the conflicted girl as they walked by her. Even if, they wouldn't care and just go on with their lives. Sakura didn't even seem to notice Katy leaving her morning job befoer Katy noticed her.

Katy bid goodbye to Sumi and was prepared to go to the dango shop earlier than usual. That was when she noticed Sakur walking not too far from her.

"Hey, Sakura!" she called over to the pink haired kunoichi. Walking over to her, Katy gave a soft smile.

Sakura had glanced up when her name was called to see who it was. When seeing it was Katy, she blinked a few times like she couldn't see her and smiled.

"Hi Katy."

Katy's smile faltered when seeing Sakura's smile. She could easily tell it was half hearted. It seemed like she didn't want to but had to. Sakura was depressed, she confluded. It wasn't very hard to tell her emotions. Almost everyone could read Sakura like an open book. But the question was why was she depressed?

Curiousity got the better of her as she had to ask.

"Hey, are you all right?"

Sakura's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he laughed.

"What do you mean? I'm fine!"

_Yeah, and Santa Claus beat up the Easter bunny,_ thought Katy. She rolled her eyes. It also wan't hard to tell that Sakura was just flat out lying. _God, she sucks at lying._

"Sakura, it's obvious you're lying. And by the way you're sulking, you're upset about something."

Sakura frowned and sighed.

"Great. Another thing I'm bad at."

Katy raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't do anything useful," said Sakura in a depressed tone. "Sasuke-kun was right all along. I'm probably the worst kunoichi to ever live."

The other eyebrow joined the first on Katy's face.

"Wait a second. Sasuke said _what?!"_

"Sasuke-kun thinks I'm weak and I don't do anything on missions. He's right." Tears sprung up in her green eyes. "I really can't do anything."

Katy clenched her jaw at the sight of the crying girl. Sakura may have been a Sasuke fangirl and all prissy towards her, but she was still overall her favorite character. She knew that Sakura was going to be strong one day and it all started in the first part of the Naruto series. But god, she _hated_ Sakura always bringing herself down over something she had no control over! It was so annoying! What was worse was that Sasuke was bringing her down when he knew Sakura might kick his butt in the future. She warnted Sasuke not to do this. He was guilty enough about how he acted with Sakura already. Did he want to make it worse?

_I'm so going to kill him when I get home._

"Sakura, you are not weak," Katy tried to reassure the girl. "Sasuke's just being a jerk."

"B-But he's right," Sakura sniffled. "I haven't been any help, even on the Land of Waves mission."

Katy sighed. She really had to get Sakura out of her little depression before she could talk to her. Her stomach suddenly growled. Maybe she could convince her during a snack.

"Hey Sakura? Want to get some food? I dodn't get to eat lunch yet."

Sakura wiped away her tears and nodded.

Katy led Sakura down the resturant street. She led her to one snack stand where they sold tea and rice balls and such. They ordered some tea anf food before retreating to a bench beneath a tree. Katy took a sip of her tea and sighed. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Sakura staring depressingly into her tea. She frowned.

"Sakura, you know in a way Sasuke is right," she quietly said.

"...I know," Sakura muttered.

"But," Katy paused until Sakura stared at her. When her green eyes met her own brown ones, she smiled gently yet mischievously at the same time. "That doesn't mean he's wrong as well."

"Huh?" Sakura stared at her as if she were crazy. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you're not useless or weak." Katy recieved a confused look. "Look, you may not exactly like me, but I can see that you have the potential to become stronger."

"B-But I'm not! Sasuke-kun said so!"

"Screw Sasuke! His opinion doesn't matter and it shouldn't matter to you!" She gave a small scolding look like a mother would to a child. "Sasuke may be my best friend and all and I value his opinions the most, but sometimes I ignore half of them. Besides, he's nothing but a bully."

"You just ignore what he says?"

Katy nodded.

"Even if he's going to be right?"

Katy scoffed. "Of course I do! And it's rare for Sasuke to be right all the time. He doesn't always have the best judgment."

"What? Sasuke-kun does too!"

"Not really. Like this one time, Sasuke and I were at home and hungry. We were in the mood for barbeque but we didn't feel like going out and I didn't feel like waiting for the grill to warm up. You know what Sasuke suggested?" Sakura's eyes asked what. "He said he would use a fire ball jutsu to help cook the barbeque! And the idiot was still working on it!"

Sakura gasped. "No way. So what happened next?"

"Sasuke tried out the jutsu and almost burnt down our kitchen! We were lucky there was a fire extinguisher nearby or we would have been toast! But man, did we make a mess that day!" Katy giggled at the recalling of the memory. This happened a month after they arrived in this dimension. She remembered who Sasuke accidentally made the flames a bit too big and how she freaked out. She grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed it to put the fire out. The whole kitchen was white that day and Sasuke was covered from head to toe in the white substance. It was a funny day.

"Wow...So I guess Sasuke-kun really _isn't_ perfect like I thought he was," Sakura said in a thoughtful tone.

"Yup! The guys as human as they can be." Katy took a bite out of a riceball and swallowed. "So you should ignore him in some things like him calling you weak. I have a feeling he's going to regret those words someday."

"Yeah, but still..." Her shoulders slumped, her green eyes staring at her feet. "I'm still not sure if I should take the Chunin Exams."

"You should! It sounds like a lot of fun and it could be a good experiance for the future."

"Like how?"

"Well..." Katy tilted her head in thought. "I guess that in the exams there will be a bunch of ninjas, right? If you pay close attention, then you can see their abilities and strenghths. Over time you could probably spot a weakness or an opening. If they, or you, fail, you could have an advantage for future reference if you ever take the exams with them again."

Sakura blinked, considering Katy's words. "Oh, yeah..." She smiled. "You're right! Wow, I never thought about it that way."

"Yeah, and you can train so you can get stronger in the mean time too! I'll even help you on my days off."

Sakura's eyes lit up and her smile grew wider.

"Really? You'd do that to help me?"

Katy nodded.

"Of course I would."

Katy was surprised when Sakrua suddenly hugged her. She found herself hugging back anyway.

"Thanks for doing that and cheering me up," said Sakura. "I know we didn't start off right."

"What? You mean all the glares and killer intent that said "I should be the only one near Sasuke-kun" vibe?" Katy let go to see her shocked expression and giggled. "Don't worry. I forgive you. Is it all right if we start all over again? As, you know, friends?"

"Of course!" Sakura instantly said.

Katy smiled. She really wanted to be Sakura's friend ever since she got here. When first meeting her, all of that was delayed because of Sakura's hostile attitude. Now that they were past that, they could be friends and like Hinata, she was going to help Sakura as much as she could. These girls really needed her help.

Her eyes wandered over to her wrist where she was wearing a watch out of habit. They widened to see that she only had five minutes before she was late for work.

"Oh, crap!" Katy sprang up to her feet, giving an apologetic look at Sakura. "Sorry, but I have to go before I'm majorly late for work."

Sakura nodded. "All right. See you later then."

"Right, bye!" Katy then hightailed it out of there if she wanted to make it before she was late. As she ran further from Sakura, Katy could only wish that Sakura could listen to her about Sasuke. She just had to if she didn't want a broken heart.

---

Okay, so I'm not dead. I know I've been gone for a while but I've been studying like crazy for my finals. They're coming up soon and I'm typing up this short chapter while I'm taking a break. Sorry for it being short by the way.

Ugh, school is stressing me out! I've been doing everything to make sure I have a C or above in my classes. I didn't think that this year it would be hard. Finals last year were easy but all my teachers this year are saying it's going to be hard. Damn it!

Before I go, I would like to say one thing about the Naruto manga. All I can say is Oh my GOD!!! This is a spoiler by the way. Danzo is freaking scarying me at this point. I thought I was shocked when finding out that he has an Uchiha eye (sorry, spoiler!) and Sasuke's cousin's at that. But that ARM of his! How many people's eyes did he take to make that freakish looking thing!? I just hope Sasuke or Madara kick his ass because he doesn't have the right to do that with the Uchiha clan's eyes. Those eyes belong to Sasuke for safe keeping! Or at least in the eye sockets of his dead relatives! Ugh, creepy!

Okay, that's it for now. Please review!

-Twilit angel


	19. Starting day

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto! Katy I own.

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 19

Sasuke stood in front of the mirror in his room, eyeing his reflection. It was only morning time and he was up earlier than usual. He would still be asleep by now, but he had been up for most of the night stressing over the date.

The day of the Chunin Exams.

God, he was nervous about this day. He hasn't been this nervous since that time he had to perform in the class play when he was ten. Actually, this was worse than that. Much worse. Sasuke still didn't think he was ready for this day. He kept telling himself he was but one small part of him kept screaming, "Don't take this exam! You're not ready yet!" Sasuke had the urge to listen to the voice very badly. He didn't because he knew he had to do this.

Why was he nervous in the first place? For one thing, Sasuke still hasn't come up with a plan yet when the part he dreaded was so close already. In the matter of hours he would be stuck in a deadly forest that has killed many ninjas with just the environment. That didn't even count any of the shinobis participating in the scroll battle. The moment he would enter that forest he would end up face-to-face with a snake man who was, what he believed to be, a pedophile. That snake man wanted _his_ body and mark him as his own so that he could tempt Sasuke into going with him. All future plans for changing the very future of everyone would fly out the window if he was marked! It was crucial for Sasuke to have a plan to aviod this very man yet he didn't have one.

But the thing was, Sasuke was an Uchiha. If he didn't have a plan now, he would just freaking wing it like all heroes do when in a tight situation. He was a genius and he was going to show it, damnit!

_Whoa, I need to calm down. I'm way too stressed out,_ Sasuke thought. He ran a hand through his raven locks, watching his mirror self do the same action. He eyed his reflection, noticing something different to the mirror-Sasuke. _Is it me or does it look like my reflection is older?_

That was one thing Sasuke caught as he studied his reflection.

Sasuke noticd that his reflection did look older as wall as a bit taller too. Maybe about an inch or two. He was surprised at that and his reflection. He looked so different from that aboy from a couple months ago. Truthfully, he didn't seem to think he was just plain, old Sasuke Hailton from Sacramento, California anymore. Just from viewing his reflection, he could easily tell he was smart and cool Sasuke Uchiha from Konohagakure. he wasn't that kid he was before anymore. It scared Sasuke a bit because for a moment, he didn't know who he was anymore. Was he plain, old Sasuke Hailton who had a secure life? Or was he Sasuke Uchiha, the only survivor of the Uchiha clan massacre and an avenger? He thought he knew himself but now he just didn't know.

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair again, sighing.

_Who am I? Who is it I really am? Sasuke Hailton? Or Sasuke Uchiha?_

He didn't seem to know who he was anymore. Being from the Naruto world and growing up as a normal kid in a different dimension just confused him way too much.

Sasuke shook his head of these thoughts, pushing them to the back of his mind for later. He was stressed out enough as it was. He didn't need an identity crisis added to his already filled plate. Looking at the digital clock on his dresser, he saw that it was almost time for Katy and Haku to wake up. Nervous looking dark onyx eyes stared back at him. Frowning, he turned away from the mirror and headed out his bedroom door to go wake up Katy and Haku.

---

After breakfast, it was time for Sasuke to head out to go meet Sakura and Naruto. Haku wasn't taking the exams because he felt he wasn't ready to take it since he hadn't been on many missions with them. Plus he wanted Team 7 to take the exams with its original members. Katy and Sasuke understood it and let him do as he pleased. Haku also decided to spend the day with Katy for 'just because.' To this day Sasuke had yet to understand Haku.

Sasuke bid goodbye to Katy and Haku as they were about to part way. Katy gave a worried glance to which Sasuke gave a Don't-worry look. She frowned but let him be. Then he walked over to the meeting place where Sakura were already there.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted as he drew closer to her. She was smiling and Sasuke was surprised inwardly. Wasn't she supposed to be quiet and scared right now?

"Hn." Sasuke gave her an acknowledging nod. He stood next to her but didn't speak to her. Silence soon befell on them and neither person minded. Though he couldn't help but note that Sakura wasn't bothering him at all. That was strange since the girl always bothered him. Even when she was nervous she would do that. So what was with her?

"Morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto came running up to Sakura, grinning.

"Good morning, Naruto," she greeted with the same tone with Sasuke. He was surprised. Sakura would _never_ greet Naruto like that. What was with her today?

Naruto didn't notice the cheerfulness as he pulled out the application form and started asking Sakura questions about it. As he did so, Team 7 began to walk towards the Ninja Academy. Sasuke listened as Sakura calmly explained little things on the application Naruto didn't get like where to sign things and stuff like that. To this day, Sasuke still wondered how Naruto ever became a ninja in the first place.

The three soon arrived at the Ninja Academy. At this time, there were dozens of shinobis from all over the Nations already there. Sasuke had a sense of panic wash over him. He tried very hard to push all of that panic back. He didn't need to get worried and nervous right now. Sakura also became nervous.

"There are a lot of people entering this exam, aren't there? Sakura asked as they entered the building. Even in the hallways it was packed.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! We'll pass this exam for sure!" Naruto encouraged her.

Sasuke thought Sakura would ignore him per usual. He was entirely wrong as Sakura smiled back.

"Right! We'll do fine!"

Sasuke's eye started to twitch as he heard the conversation. There had to be something wrong with Sakura today. Never in her twelve year old life would Sakura even be nice to Naruto. She was supposed to be, at least, attempting to talk to him! Not that blond-haired idiot! Him! If this continued, who knew how those two would soon act. He could just imagine it. As the days would go by, Sakura and Naruto would start to become friendly to each other. Sakura would stop hitting Naruto then one day they might...!

_Wait, why am I even thinking this!? I could care less if they started dating or not!_

Myabe Sasuke was more nervous than usual. That would explain his thoughts today.

The three started their way up to the second floor. When they got there and turned the corner into a hallway, they noticed a large crowd blocking the way. Wondering what was going on, they pushed past the people towards the door with the sign '301' over it. They finally got through the crowd to the scene only to see a kid knocking down a boy with bushy eyebrows and the weirdest haircut Sasuke has every seen.

"You plan to take the exam with that?" spat out the boy with the giant kunai on his back. "You should quit now."

"You're just a little kid," his friend said.

A girl with two hairbuns on her head as well as being very familiar to Sasuke stepped forward.

"Please let us through."

The first boy smacked the girl across the face. She fell to the ground with a red mark on her cheek.

"Hey, we're just being nice. The Chunin Exam isn't exactly easy. Even we have failed it three times straight," the boy said. "We've seen shinobi go through this exam and they end up quitting. We're just thinning out the losers. What's wrong with that?"

Sasuke didn't mind that they were taking out any losers, but it wasn't nice to hit girls. Mari always told him that a man should never hit a girl. She told him this when he suggested to Katy one that that he could hit his fangirls with water balloons so that they would leave him alone when they were ten. His mother heard him and told him, "Sasuke, I never want to hear you physically hurt a girl! It isn't very nice or manly." He listned to her. For now, he would have to ignore the fact that a girl was hit in front of him. He walked over to the two boys by the door with a smirk.

"That's nice and all but let me pass through. And while you're at it, drop the genjutsu that you placed on the door sign."

One of the boys smirked.

"So you noticed."

"I did. But Sakura must have noticed it before I did," he mentioned, turning to the girl behind him. He kept smirking at her. "After all, she's skilled in the genjutsu know-how and she's the most improved."

Sakura blinked in surprse, thinking he was talking about a different Sakura. She even gave a sneaking look around. When she finally knew Sasuke was talking about her, she smiled and nodded.

"Of course I noticed. We're obviously on the second floor."

The sign above the door suddenly changed from 301 to 201.

The boy with the kunai smirked.

"Not bad. But all you did was see through it!"

The boy kicked at Sasuke with a sweep kick. Sasuke lifted his leg to retailiate with a roundhouse kick, but suddenly both of their attacks were stopped by the boy with the weird haircut that was actually a bowlcut. Sasuke wasn't ver surprised when the boy who he knew as Rock Lee came in, but he was surprised at how fast he was. His speed was incredible. And how was he able to hold both of them off?

"You should not fight before the exams start," Lee wisely advised him.

"Hey." A boy about a year older than Sasuke approached Lee with a scowl. "Weren't you the one to suggest we not stand out?'

Lee nodded. "I did and I'm sorry. But..." He glanced over to Sakura. She gave a look of disgust at his appearance. Who wouldn't? (A/N: I'm sorry, I love Lee and all, but his appearance creeped me out when I first saw him) He walked over to her and bowed politely. "Hello! My name is Rock Lee! Your name is Sakura Haruno, right?"

"Uh, yeah. That's me." Sakura still had that look of disgust on her face. "Why?"

"Please become my girlfriend!" Lee gave a blinding white smile that only Hollywood movie stars could acheieve and a thumbs up. "I promise to protect you for as long as I live!"

Sasuke felt himself glare at Lee's back. He already knew that he would ask out Sakura. It was something expected and felt shouldn't concern him. For some reason, though, Lee asking out Sakura was actually irritating him. And he didn't know why! It just was! He was urged to jump at Lee to keep him away from his teammate. he wasn't able to when someone called out to him. He turned to see the boy who spoke to Lee earlier. The one with long brown hair ang lavender eyes like Hinata's. Sasuke glared at the character.

"What do you want?"

The boy stared at him coldly.

"You...what is your name?"

Sasuke felt his eye twitch and scowled. Hasn't this guy ever heard of manners? There was such a thin as that in this world and his.

"It is polite to say your name first if you wish to know another's name."

At that comment, the boy smirked.

"My name is Neji Hyuuga."

Sasuke smirked. So he was finally meeting one of his favorite characters. He admired Neji at some extent. Someday, he wished to fight him. Someday.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked off down the hall. Two voices drifted to his ears as the owners of those voices approached him. Naruto and Sakura gained their places on either side of him. Just as it should be.

The three entered a room that could lead outside to the courtyards. They all halted when hearing a voice. Turning around, they looked up to the balcony to see Lee. He pointed at Sasuke with a determined look.

"You with the scowl. I wish to fight you."

Naruto and Sakura were surprised wheil Sasuke barely batted an eye. He did raise an eyebrow for appearance's sake.

"You want to fight now?"

"Yes." Lee jumped down to the ground level. "My name is Rock Lee. If you wish to know someone's name you tell them yours, correct?"

"Hn." He smirked. At least Lee knew what manners meant. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Lee nodded and slipped into a fighting stance.

"I want to test my skill against you. To see my abilites against someone of the genius clan, the Uchiha."

"Wait, I want to fight you," Naruto interuppted. "Just give me five minutes to kick Bushy Brow's butt."

"Who I want to fight is the Uchiha."

"Damnit! It's always Sasuke!"

Naruto was about to charge at Lee when he was suddenly pulled back by the back of his jacket collar. He fell to the ground on his back. Opening his eyes he didn't know he closed, he stared up at Sasuke's glaring eyes. It turns out that Sasuke grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket to keep him from charging.

"You idiot! Don't go charging in like that!" Sasuke hissed at Naruto. "Do you ever think before you jump in like that!?"

Naruto glared back up at him. He stood to his feet yelling, "Stop calling me an idiot! I can do what I want!"

Sasuke scoffed. He saved him from getting his butt handed to him and this was the thanks he got? He should have let him get his butt kicked after all. He turned to Lee, folding his arms.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to fight you now."

"Why?" Lee asked in surprised confusion. He was sure that the Uchiha would have fought him.

"We're from the same village. We shouldn't fight before the exams even start. Also..." His eyes flickered over to the clock on one of the walls. Everyone followed his eyes to see what he meant. It was three-fifty pm. There was only ten more minutes to register their application. Sasuke said, "We can fight later."

Lee nodded, dropping his stance.

"Yes. You are right. But be sure, Sasuke Uchiha. We _will _fight during the Exams."

That said, Lee blew a kiss at Sakura. Sakura screeched and ducked before the kiss got to her. Lee seemed a bit down at that. Then he jumped back to the balcony he jumped from and disappeared. Sasuke glared daggers at his back. He felt irritated that he would try to be close to his teammate.

"Why the hell does everyone want to fight Sasuke-teme?" Naruto complained. Team 7 started to walk towards room 301 on the third floor after Lee left. "I mean, he's not _that_ special!"

"Knock it off, Naruto," said Sakura. "You should thank Sasuke-kun for stopping you from attacking Lee."

"I could've handled him easy! Bushy Brow would never challenge me after I kicked his butt."

"Hn, he didn't challenge you, dobe. He challenged me," Sasuke said with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up," grumbled Naruto. He hated that stupid smirk on his face. One day he was going to wipe that off his face.

The team walked down the hallway that would lead them to their destination: Room 301. It was at the end of the hallway. They walked closer to the room to see someone leaning on the wall, reading a familiar orange covered book.

"Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" asked Sakura in surprise.

"Oh, so Sakura came as well, huh?" Kakashi put away his book and stood in front of his three students. He glanced around as if expectig someone else. "Where's Haku?"

"He's not taking the exams," Sasuke replied.

"Why wouldn't I have come?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi shrugged. "I just thought you wouldn't. It's a good thing you did. Otherwise, Naruto and Sasuke couldn't take the Chunin Exams."

"What do you mean?"

"In order to take these exams genins must enter with a team of three," he explained. "I thought Haku would come and complete the team if Sakura didn't join."

"So you lied to us?" she asked in outrage. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"If I told you earlier Naruto and Sasuke would have asked you to take the exams even if you weren't ready. You would have said yes if Sasuke asked you. That's why I didn't tell you. But I'm still glad you did join." Kakashi glanced at his students, his eye gleaming with pride and a smile under his mask. "I'm proud of you three. Now go."

He stepped to the side to let his students pass.

The three genin glanced at each other. They all smiled (or in Sasuke's case, smirked) at each other and nodded. Then the three stepped through the door, ready to take the exams by storm.

---

Ugh...So...tired. Can't...feel hands.

*cough cough*

Sorry this is so late everyone. I have a new year resolution. I plan to update every week like I did last year. I need to catch up with these chapters online. Okay, truth is, in here I'm only at the start of the Chunin Exams. But since I keep a notebook for this story, I'm already at the part where they fucking meet Itachi! I mean, comeon! I way behind! That's why I gotta get my head in the game! I can't fall behind! That's why, everyone, that I ask that you cheer me on! Even if I have a crap load of school work to do I take my time and effort to give this story to you! I need your support! Please send me your best wishes!

Crap, now I'm all pumped up. Well, I gotta go take all of this energy out on my homework.

Oh, and on a random note, you know those career personality tests they make you take at school? I took one online and you'll never guess what one of my top 50 careers would be. Novelist ^.^. How funny is that? Same thing with book editor. I know I can't do that since my grammer sucks in here. Ok I know that's mainly because my hands always get tired so I stumble keys alot but still. That's hilarious.

Welp, gotta go! Please review everyone!


	20. Sneaky cheating

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 20

Upon walking through that door, Team 7 entered a large classroom big enough to fit thirty people and still have room. Tables sitting three people were situated in rows to face the front of the room. Already there were many of the genins from all villages sitting around the room. Sasuke swallowed and contained his anxiety. He knew that there would be shinobis from all around the Nations participating. He just didn't know this many.

"Sasuke-kun, you're late!" A familiar voice sent a shudder down his spine. He was suddenly glomped on from behind and steadied himself before he fell. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw pale blue eyes and platinum blonde hair.

_Ino…_ Sasuke thought with distaste. Ever since she tried to kill Katy and Katy's obscent whining of that girl, he disliked her as much as Katy did.

"It's been so long since I've seen you!" Ino squealed, hugging Sasuke tightly. He couldn't almost breathe because of that. "I was so excited to see you again!"

"Get off of Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!" Sakura growled at Ino.

"If it isn't Sakura. Still have a big forehead, I see," Ino taunted cheekily.

Sakura's eye twitched at the old nickname. Sasuke mentally groaned. Great. He was caught in the middle of their stupid rivalry. Why did they both have to be fangirls of him?

"So you guys are entering too? How troublesome," a laid back yet familiar voice said behind him.

Ino finally let go fo Sasuke to go bicker with Sakura. Sasuke turned around to see two boys. One boy had his dark hair tied up in a spikey ponytail, which Sasuke thought made the boy's head look like a pineapple (Sorry to any of Shika fans! This is Sasuke thinking, not me). Behind him was another boy who had a large build and big-boned-not fat, he told himself-body. The boy was holding a bag of potato chips and eating it. Both boys had Konoa hitai-ates on their person.

"Shikamaru, Chouji! You guys are entering too?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. I didn't want to enter because of how troublesome this is," the boy with the spikey ponytail yawned. "But I had nothing better to do."

_Ino probably made him take it…_Sasuke rolled his eyes. Shikamaru had no enthusiasm at this age. It wasn't that Sasuke had something against Shikamaru. He actually thought he was alright. Back in the Academy Sasuke would go to him for help with things he didn't quite get. Of course, this hurt his pride so he made the Nara promise not to tell. Shikamaru was also the only one who seemed sane out of the Rookie Nine. The only thing that bothered him was his lack of enthusiasm. He wouldn't use his energy for anything but lying on his back. _I bet if no one bothered him he would sleep all day._

"Yahoo! Found you guys!" Another familiar voice exclaimed. Sasuke didn't have to turn to see who it was, but he did anyway. He saw three kids his age but only one he knew very well.

The two others were boys. One boy looked wild and untameable with his gray hoodie with fur on the edges of the hood and his fang-like teeth. There were already red triangle markings under his eyes. There was also a dog on his head. The other boy Sasuke barely knew much about. That was strange when they were in the same class in the Academy. The boy wore a light gray coat with a high collar so it covered the lower part of his face. He also wore dark sunglasses. The only thing mentionable about this boy was that he had dark hair

Out of these three kids, Sasuke only knew Hinata very well.

The boy with the dog on his head glanced around the six kids and grinned. "It looks like all of the Rookie Nine is taking the exams. How far do you think we'll get?" he asked Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked. "You sound confident, Kiba."

"Why wouldn't I be? We've been training harder since the last time we saw each other."

The dog on his head, Akamaru, barked in agreement with his master.

"You'll never be able to beat me! Sasuke might lose to you but I never will!" Naruto declared.

"Kiba-kun didn't mean it like that, Naruto-kun," Hinata quietly stuttered. He didn't hear her and continued to bicker childishly with Kiba.

"Don't worry about it, Hinata," said Sasuke. He walked over to her. He may have said it coldly but he meant to sound kinder to her.

"O-Oh...Okay," Hinata said, keeping the blush from seeing Naruto down. "By the way, how is Katy-chan?"

"She's fine. Being more annoying with Haku around now but fine." Sasuke shrugged. It seemed strange that he was talking to a girl other than Katy of his own free will, but it wasn't. He and Hinata got along quite well as friends. They met each other formerly when Katy introduced Hinata to him. Sasuke thought he wouldn't like her since her personality was too shy for him. Quite the contrary. Hinata turned out to be not so shy as she continued to spend time with Katy. She just needed to be in a comfortable zone. Also, Hinata was the only girl not to fall in love with him. Any girl who wasn't a fan of his was fine in his book.

"H-Haku?" Hinata asked in confusion. It took awhile for her to register the name. "O-Oh! Is that the boy is living with you now?"

"Hn." Sasuke had gotten used to having Haku living with them. However, he irritated him when it came to Katy. In their house, Sasuke would occasionally find Haku staring at Katy when she wasn't looking. Sasuke recognized the look he gave her very well. It was like the looks his fangirls gave him, but softer and more caring. This look infuriated Sasuke. There was no way in hell that Haku had a crush on his sister-like friend. Why did that have to happen? From that moment on, Sasuke kept a close eye on Haku whenever it was just them and Katy.

_Oh snap...I left Haku to spend the day with Katy!_ Sasuke just realized. He mentally panicked and hit himself mentally. What was he thinking when he heard that? Was he thinking at all? _No, I wasn't. I was too concerned about these exams._

"You know you guys should be more quiet," a voice said near them. Sasuke had to resist a shiver down his spine. It was him...Sasuke reluctantly turned to the voice. It was a man a few years older than them. He had greyish hair that resembled Kakashi's hair but not quite and tied in a low ponytail. he also wore glasses that reminded Sasuke of Harry Potter. Another noticeable thing about this guy was the Konoha hitai-ate tied around his forehead. "You guys are rookies just out of the Academy, right?" he asked the nine rookies (and dog).

Ino scowled at the man. Sasuke felt like doing the same. "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm Kabuto. But instead of that, look behind you."

He pointed behind them.

The rookies turned around to see everyone in the room glaring at them. Sasuke responded with a glare of his own. None of these guys frightened him. Their glares couldn't match his. But Sasuke felt Hinata recoil at the glares and she slightly hid behind him.

"Listen, I'm just warning you guys so you won't get hurt," Kabuto told them.

"By the way you're talking, Kabuto, it sounds like you've taken this exam before," said Sakura.

"This is actually the seventh time I've taken this exam. Twice a year for four years now."

What a lie. He just drops out or gives up just for this exam. Sasuke scoffed. He really knew what Kabuto was really here for. The others didn't notice though.

Sakura's ees widened in amazement. "Could you give us some tips since you know so much?"

Kabuto nodded.

"Sure. I've got these ninja info cards with all the information you need."

He knelt down to the ground while pulling out a large deck of cards out of his weapons pouch. The back of the cards were an orange color with a circle containing a kanji letter. The front of the card was blank. Sakura asked why they were blank and Kabuto explained that when he put his chakra into the card, the information would appear. But the cards only responded to his chakra on the cards if they didn't. Kabuto then showed a card that showed which villages were in Konoha taking the exams. The majority of them were from Konoha.

Sasuke pretended to be listening intentlyto Kabuto but he wasn't. He already knew this part before he had come to this dimension. After all, he and Katy were watching this part in the anime. He also didn't want to be near Kabuto. This man was a traitor for Orochimaru and he tried to kill him. Sasuke hated Kabuto. He bit back his dislike as he asked Kabuto if he had anyone in particular and Sasuke said, "Gaara of the Desert and Rock Lee."

Kabuto brought out the two cards and laid them on the ground for all to see. Sasuke and the rest leaned in to study the cards. Sasuke almost scowled at the information. These cards told him nothing he didn't know. He actually knew more than the cards. For one thing, Gaara's card tol him the least important. Why in the world would he heed to know how many ranked missions Gaara did? He even knew what skills he had! The same thing with Lee. He knew all of the characters inside and out, but he would never tell anyone. Only he and Katy could ever know.

Kabuto put the two cards back in the deck when two kunai were thrown at him. He dodged the weapons and stood face to face with three ninjas from Otogakure or the Village Hidden in the Sound. Sasuke knew these three. He just hoped he would never encounter thses three in the second exams. One ninja who looked like a mummy with bandages on his face swung his arm, which held a rectangular metal contraption with holes on the top of it. Kabuto easily dodged it. For some reason, though, his glasses cracked. This shocked almost everyone.

"He dodged the blow. How were his glasses broken?" Sasuke mechanically asked. He only said it because he had to. He already knew how his glasses broke.

The moment Kabuto opened his mouth to say something, he started to vomit. Naruto and Sakura rushed to his side to see if he was alright. One of the Sound ninjas smirked.

"You're pretty pathetic considering you've taken this exam seven times."

"Everyone, shut up!"

A cloud of smoke appeared in front of the classroom. The smoke cleared to reveal a man with a Konoha hitai-ate bandanna on his head and scars on his face. Standing behind him stood a group of Konoha ninjas.

"My name is Morino Ibiki and I will be the chief proctor of this exam." He pointed a finger at the three Sound shinobi. "You three cannot carry on in any way you please. If you do something like that again, you'll be disqualified."

"Sorry, sir," one of the boys apologized. "This is our first exam."

Ibiki smirked. "Then allow me to lay down some ground rules. First of all there will be no fighting without the express permission of the examiner. Now then, everyone turn in your applications and get a seat number. Once Sasuke got his number, he went to go sit. When he did, he glanched around the room for Sakura and Naruto. He found them easily by his discolored hair. Sasuke saw that Sakura seemed confident about this. Why shouldn't she? This was where she could use her book smarts for once and shine. It was a different story with Naruto. He kept fidgeting in his seat at the front of the room. Sasuke scowled.  
_  
That idiot better not get caught cheating or fail._

Sasuke faced forward as Ibiki began explaining the test. He took a look at the test and almost started panicking. Almost. Most of the questions he did not get. How the hell was he supposed to know what Ninja rule 243 was? He didn't study all the way up to that many rules! How in the world did his character in the anime get this without panicking?! He almost banged his head on the desk but didn't. It would be embarassing in a quiet room with thirty-something ninjas and scratching pencils.

_Ugh! This is just like STAR testing all over again!_ Sasuke mentally groaned. Back in Sacramento, every year of school near the end of the year, all schools in California had to take a standardized testing review. He hated taking that exam. The class had to stay silent the whole time and couldn't stand up from their desk unless the teacher gave the OK. This test only reminded him of that.

_Okay Sasuke, calm down. You may not know the answers to these questions but you always have one option you have never used during a test._ Sasuke peeked around the room to see if anyone was looking his way. When no one was, Sasuke closed his eyes then reopened them to reveal red and black irises. He stared straight ahead to the person in front of him and began to move as he watched the other ninjas pencil move. Sasuke smirked. _I am going to ace this! If only I had the Sharingan back home. It would have made taking test easier! But Mari would have killed me if she found out I cheated on my tests._

A little while later his test was almost filled out except for the tenth question. Sasuke deactivated his Kekke Genkai and leaned back in his chair. He gave a small sigh of relief. He finished the test and in time too. It was almost time for Ibiki to give them the tenth question.

As if on cue, Ibiki announced he was giving the tenth question.

"First of all," said Ibiki to the ones who didn't get kicked out yet, "you must choose whether you accept or reject this tenth question. If you choose to reject the question, you will automatically fail along with your teammates."

"Then why would anyone choose to reject the question?!" some random ninja exclaimed.

"Because if you choose to accept the question and get it wrong, you will never be able to take the Chunin Exam again. If you choose to reject the question, raise your hand."

Everyone was shocked. Slowly but surely, his words began to take effect. Ninjas began to raise their hands and left with their teammates. Sasuke saw Sakura almost raise her hand then she shook her head and kept her hand down. He felt calm about that and felt glad she didn't raise her hand. He was almost calm as it looked like Naruto was about to raise hs hand. Instead of raising it, he slammed his hand down on his desk.

"Never underestimate me! I refuse to quit and I'll never run! I'll accept your question, even if it means I may end up being a genin for the rest of my life. I'll become Hokage through pure stubborness if I have to! I'm not scare!" he declared bravely and proudly.

Sasuke felt slightly moved. He was sure everyone else was as well. That small declaration made everyone grow confident. Why did Naruto have to be so damn inspirational?

Ibiki frowned. "I'll give you one last chance. This decision could affect you for the rest of your life."

"I never go back on my word. That's my ninja way."

Ibiki smirked at that response. "Good call. The rest of you that are here, you have all just passed the first exam."

"Huh?' was all that sounded throughout the room. All blinked in shock, confusion, and surprise.

"H-How could we have passed?" Sakura asked, passing through her shock. "What about the tenth question?"

"There is no tenth question beyong the acception and rejection."

"So those other nine questions were a complete waste of our time!" Temari yelled from somewhere in the room.

"Actually, those questions weren't a waste of your time. They were a challenge to see if you cheat on this test without getting caught. It refelcts on what you must do once you are a chunin. If you get caught on a mission, you may not be killed but..." Ibiki removed his bandanna and revealed many scars and scroch marks on his head. Sasuke was disgusted yet oddly intrigued at the same time. It was like he couldn't look away when he wanted to.

Ibiki chuckled and put his bandanna back on. He started to explain to the genin that a chunin must take missions that may cross into enemy territory. Even when the chunin did not know anything on the enemy.

Everyone was excited now that they passed the first exam, including Sasuke. But he was in a love/hate mood right now. He was happy that they passes but dreaded the next exam. it was in the Forest of Death now. His mood got worse when kunai broke the windows and hit the ceiling and floor. Tied to the kunai was a sheet that said, "Second Examiner." A familiar woman appeared next to Ibiki. She looked at her victions seriously. Sasuke sank into his seat, banging his head on the desk in despair. Some of the ninjas around him gave him strange looks. He ignore them.  
_  
Oh god...Not_ her!!!

"None of you are in any position to be celebrating!" said none other than Anko Mitarashi. "I am the second examiner, Anko Mitarashi! Everyone, follow m!"

Everyone stared at Anko strangely. Sasuke hid his head in his arms on the desk, cursing his bad luck. He thought it would be longer before he saw this woman again! Damn Katy for having that woman as her friend!

Anko frowned, seeing the number of genins left. "Ibiki, you let way too many teams pass. Whatever. I'll cut that number down by half in the next test. Everyone, it's time to go! I'll explain the rules when we get to our destination."

Everyone stood up from their chairs to go follow Anko out. Sasuke met up with Naruto and Sakura at the door. All of them were relieved that the first exam was over. The exams, however, was going to get harder. Team 7 won the battle, but the war wasn't over yet.

---

Yay! Anko appears yet again! Hehe, I missed writing her. And this exam gives an important lesson. _Never_ get caught cheating. All you need is a Sharingan and then you're fine.

Sorry, wanna make this short. I'm watching Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and the short little cartoons they have on there. At the same time, I'm reading XxxHolic. God, I love these series!

Please review!

-Twilit Angel


	21. A new plan

Discliamer: Don't own a single name of Naruto. Just the name Katy.

**Remembering what was forgottten**

Chapter 21

The group followed Anko to a familiar heavily gated forest. Sasuke nearly flinched at the sight of the dark forest. This was the place where he and Katy were found unconsious by Anko. It seemed ironic that they were found by the place that would hold an important event. Then again, Sasuke's life was full of iron now. (A/N: Ain't that the truth?)

Anko smirked and turned to the group. "This is where you will have the Second exam. This place is called the Forest of Death. All of you are going to find out first hand where it got its name."

Naruto began mocking Anko to which Sasuke pitied him. Anko saw this, smiling, then threw a kunai at him. Naruto winced when the kunai cut his cheek. She appeared behind him and began licking the blood off his cheek.

"Your kind are always the first ones to go," Anko said, savoring the taste of Naruto's blood. (A/N: Ah! Vampire!) Sasuke made a slightly disgusted face at that and she noticed. She turned to Sasuke with a grin on her face. "Well, well, well! If it isn't my favorite little student, Sasuke Uchiha! I had a feeling we were going to meet again soon."

Everyone around Sasuke gave a look of horror at him and Anko. Sasuke scowled, folding his arms.

"Yeah, hi, Anko," he muttered.

"Whoa! You _know_ this crazy lady!?" Naruto yelled in surprise. He cried out in pain when Anko hit him in the head.

"Know this guy? I trained him for awhile!" Anko proudly stated. She went over to Sasuke and grabbed him the shoulders, grinning. "This guy was a weak, little shrimp the first time I met him. But I fixed that and whipped him into shape! He was pretty fun to mess with, too." She pinched Sasuke's cheek, pulling it. Sasuke slapped her hand away, frowning. He hated it when she did that. He always wondered how Anko became Katy's friend.

Naruto laughed at Sasuke.

"Ha ha! You were weak before she trained you!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.

"Shut up, Dobe."

"Make me, teme! Oh, wait! You can't because you're too weak to!"

He laughed even harder.

Sasuke growled. Naruto was so dead! No one called him weak and got away with it! He was about to attack the blind to show him who was boss. He stopped when Anko suddenly whipped out a kunai and pointed it behind her. Behind her stood a Grass ninja (A/N: I'm sorry, but does anyone know the Japanese name for the Grass ninjas? Please tell me if you do!) with long black hair. Her long tongue held out Anko's kunai to her.

"I believe this is yours?"

Anko grinned and took back her kunai.

"Thanks. But you shouldn't appear behind me unless you want to die."

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder and held a dark look at the Grass ninja as she left. He wasn't fooled by that stupid disguise. He knew _exactly_ who that person was. All he had to do was to be careful around her and he would be fine. Hopefully...

Anko went back to her position in the front and started explaining what they were all supposed to do. Each team would be given one out of two scrolls to hold onto. Once they entered the forest everyone was given five days to go get the other scroll they needed. Once they had both scrolls they would need to head to the tower in the center of the forest. But before they could start, Anko had to have them sign a consent form for deaths. She guaranteed that there will be deaths in this exam. Then she passed out the forms.

Sasuke received his form and scanned it. What he read made him think. Anko was serious when she said that people would die. There were many things in the forest they were about to enter that could and would kill them. That didn't even include any of the other ninjas. How did she expect them to survive in the Forest of Death for five days? And how were they going to get consent if they were dead? That didn't make sense.

"Sasuke-kun!" A loud squeal sounded throughout the whole area. Sasuke didn't even have time to react to his name when he was suddenly tackled to the ground. He felt someone heavy sitting on his back and he had a good idea on who it was. The person giggled. "Good to see you passed the First exams, Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto laughed and grinned at the person to tackle Sasuke. "Nice one, Katy-chan!"

"Thanks, Naruto." Katy smiled cheekily then went to a sweet one when seeing Sakura. "Hi, Sakura-chan!"

"Hi, Katy-chan! What are you doing here?" asked Sakura.

"I'm on a delivery run. I'm here to bring dango to Milady."

"Who?"

"She means Anko. Katy, get the hell off of me!" Sasuke groaned, pushing himself up to get her off. Katy stood to her feet and helped her friend up. Sasuke dusted off the dirt on his knees, glaring at her. "Do you have to tackle me?"

"Yes. And besides..." She grinned. "You should have been able to sense me. Not much of a ninja, are you?"

"Sasuke is right, Katy-chan. You shouldn't tackle him before he takes an important exam," a voice said behind them.

Katy pouted at Haku right behind her. She sighed.

"Right. I'll be more careful, Haku."

"Hey, Haku. What are you doing here? The teme told us you weren't entering the Chunin Exams," Naruto said. He eyed the paper bag that Haku was holding. "What's that?"

"I'm accompanying Katy-chan on her delivery run. I also decided to spend the day with her. Someone has to watch her."

"And that reminds me..." Katy took the paper bag from Haku and yelled, "Milady! Your dango and juice order is here!"

"Yay!" There was a purple and tan blur as someone glomped Katy. Team 7 didn't react very much as the paper bag flew out of Katy's hands. Haku quickly caught it before it fell. Katy could hardly breathe as she was being hugged very tightly by Anko. "My dango's here from my little follower!"

"Follower?" Naruto asked.

"She means friend," explained Sasuke. He watched as Katy suffered a near death by hug. It was hilarious to see Katy struggled to breathe. He wished he had a camera with him right now. He smirked. "Anko and Katy are friend. Katy also calls Anko, 'Milady.'"

"So...They're friends?" Sakura skeptically asked.

"Yeah. Katy always makes the weirdest friends."

Anko finally let go of Katy by that time. While Katy tried to learn how to breathe again, Anko accepted the paper bag from Haku, gave the money to him, and went her merry way. Katy wheezed to the group, "You know you called yourself weird too, Sasuke."

"_Says the girl who eats duck egss,_" Sasuke muttered under his breath. But Katy heard him anyway.

"_Hey! _Balot_ is good! Don't hate me because I'm _pinoy,_" _she snapped at him. She already recovered from the glomping earlier. "And now that I think about it, I haven't had any Filipino food in awhile. Maybe I should make some _lumpia_. I'm kind of in the mood for it," she pondered, thinking of all the Filipino food she hasn't had in months.

Sakura, Naruto, and Haku stared at Katy like she just spoke another language, which she did. Sasuke also began thinking about filipino food. Ever since they became friends, Katy introduced her ethnic food to him. At first, most of them looked and tasted strange to him. Over time he began to like the food and had favorites like _lumpia_ (egg rolls). Oddly enough, he found himself missing _ube_ in a bread roll. And he didn't even like sweets! he just liked _ube_ even though it was a sweet yam and purple. Why it was purple, he would never know.

"Uh, Katy-chan? What did you say?" Sakura sked for her, Naruto, and Haku. They were all confused on what she just said.

Katy took awhile to respond then smiled at them and said, "I was saying I should make some recipes my mom taught me. They're really good and I haven't had them in forever!"

"Your...mother?" Haku asked. "I didn't know you had a family. You've never mentioned them before."

"Oh, yeah. He's right! Why haven't you mentioned them before? And shouldn't you be with them?" Naruto asked Katy.

Sasuke saw Katy visibly tense up. Any mention of her family was always touchy with her. The same was said with him. Katy wringed her hands together in anxiety and sadness.

"Ah...well...Something happened that made me be far away from my mother," she explained. "I ended up here because of it and I haven't seen my mom since then."

"What about your dad? You only mention your mom."

"My dad died when I was very little." Katy grinned a bit. "I don't remember him much, thought. I was happy with my small family of three-well, two if you don't count my brother."

"You have a brother?" Naruto and Sakura simoultanously asked.

Katy bit her lip and nodded. Sasuke could tell that she could start crying any minute now if they stayed on this subject. But by how Sakura, Naruto, and Haku were curious, she had to continue.

"Yes. I had an older brother once but he...d-died when I was eleven." Her voice cracked at the end, signaling that she would start crying soon. It was always so hard to mention him after what happened. Sakura and Haku grew silent as Naruto sobered.

Sasuke knew that Katy would start crying soon. He quickly grabbed her hand and led her away from the others and into the trees nearby. he didn't want her to cry in front of a group of ruthless ninjas. She would be humiliated by it later. Once in the shadow of the trees and hidden from the others, Katy let loose some of her tears. She sat down on the base of a tree with her back against the rough wood. Tears softly fell down her skin and down to her lap. Sasuke stood in front of her, waiting for her to finish crying.

"S-Sorry for al-almost crying in front o-of everyone, Sasuke," Katy quietly said. She sniffled, wiping away her tears. "It-It's just hard to talk about Kuya."

"Hn." Sasuke knew that she was sensitive on the subject of her brother. It was always hard to talk about him. Katy always grew teary at the mention of him. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and scowled at her tears. "Stop crying, will you? Crying will do you no good."

"S-Sorry." Katy finished crying and wiped away all signs that she cried. Except for her pink-rimmed eyes, it looked like she never did cry. Taking a deep breath, Katy stood to her feet and grinned. "Okay. Emo phase over with. No more tears. _And now onto business!"_

"What business?"

"_About the Second exams, of course!"_ Katy stated in a matter-of-fact tone. She gave a sly grin that reminded Sasuke of Naruto. "_I have an idea on how you could avoid getting bitten by Pedo-snake. It's pretty obvious that _you_ don't have a plan yet. I bet you were going to wing it or something like that."_

Sasuke didn't even reply to that one. She was basically right. "So what's your idea?" he asked.

Katy reached into the small pouch she had on her hip. After learning she had no pockets to hold anything she had in her outfit, she borrowed one of Sasuke's weapon pouches, emptied it of weapons, and held her small items in there then tied it to her hip. Her hand dug through the pouch until she felt the thing she was looking for. She wrapped her fingers around it and pulled it out. Grinning, she held it out to Sasuke. "_Tada! Here is the answer to your problem."_

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the item. It was a cylindrical object that was colored a deep red. On one of the flat ends of the object was a wick. He identified the object as a firework. He stared blankly at Katy as if saying, 'You can't be serious.' "_Katy, seriously? A _firework_?"_ he asked.

"Yes, I'm serious."

_"Why would you want me to use that to avoid getting bitten?_" He pressed on. What good would a flashy explosive do against an evil, malicious snake lord?

"_Well, not exactly help you avoid getting bitten," _Katy said. She leaned back onto the tree behind her. The wood roughly pricked her bare shoulders but she didn't mind. "_I'm giving you this because it will signal where you are in the forest. My plan is that when Pedo-snake comes in that girly disguise and says you two have to fight to the death for the scrolls, you light up the firework and throw it in the air. I'm going to go to Anko and say I saw a strange man with snake eyes enter the forest later on. Anko will most likely freak out and when the fireworks go off she'll head to that location which is where you are. Anko will fight Orochimaru and during that time, you and Team 7 bolt out of there. Then you get your scrolls and head to the Tower where you're home free!"_ She smiled brightly. "Any questions?"

Sasuke was silent for awhile. He couldn't know what to think of her plan. All of that could occur from one measly firework? Something that was supposed to be used for entertainment on the Fourth of July, New Year's, and Chinese New Year's? (He celebrates the Chinese New Year's even though his mother wasn't Chinese. She only did it because she, at first, thought Sasuke was Chinese. Wanting him to know his heritage, they celebrated it.) It was hard to grasp that something so small could help avoid something so big. But he had to.

"Do I _have_ to use that?" Sasuke questioned.

"Yes, unless you have a better plan...?" Katy stared at him expectantly. Sasuke didn't even say anything when she was right. She smiled smugly, knowing she got him. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

Sasuke scowled. He snatched the small explosive out of her hand, then shoved it into his weapons pouch. He didn't want to use the firework but it was all he could use at the moment. Katy's plan did sound like it could work. What bothered him was that _everything_ could go wrong.

_I just hope it _does_ work and nothing goes wrong._

He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out of the covers of the tress. Katy frowned at his retreating back, moving to follow him.

"Your welcome!" Katy called to him. She huffed, stalking after Sasuke. The least he could do was thank her for coming up with a plan when he didn't have one in the first place. "No 'thanks, Katy!' or 'You're the best, Katy,' or even 'You saved my life, Katy! What would I do without you?!' The ungrateful little-"

Katy stopped speaking. A horrible feeling suddenly overcame her and it felt like she was being watched. A shiver went down her spine. Katy glanced around the area to see who could be watching her. Her brown eyes sweeped around the area, seeing many ninjas signing their consent forms. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she met a pair of eyes. She turned her head toward the eyes and soon wished she didn't. The pair of eyes she met were yellow and snake-like. Those eyes belonged to the Grass ninja that returned Anko's kunai. The person was watching her with an almost predatory look. It was like he was a lion watching a little lamb graze in a meadow and waited for the moment to strike. The bad part was that Katy was the lamb.

When they eyes connected, the Grass ninja licked her lips with that long tongue of hers and smirked. It looked like she was chuckling. A spike of fear shot up her spine. Katy started to tremble and quickly started walking back to where Team 7 was. Her mind ran faster than her feet.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no! Orochimaru was watching me! Does that mean he was watching me and Sasuke talk? How much did he see?!_ She thought urgently. She was freaking out. If he saw them talking, then he must have seen her handing him the firework! This could ruin eveything they worked for! _This is bad! This is _very_ bad! I have to tell Sasuke!_

Katy began to pick up her pace until she was coming nearer to the team. They were all talking about what could happen in the next exams, but stopped when seeing Katy.

"Katy-chan, are you alright? I didn't mean to make you cry," Naruto hurriedly apologized.

"Huh?" Katy blinked, staring blankly at him. Realizing what he said, she gave a grin. "Oh, you don't need to apologize, Naruto. I know you didn't mean to. You guys were just curious about my family was all. No harm, no foul!"

Naruto grinned, happy he didn't hurt her feelings too much with whatever he asked. He moved off the depressing subject and began telling Katy how excited he was for the next part of the exams.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Haku listened to the two speak. Katy grinned at most of Naruto's comments and giggled at some parts. The three noticed that Katy was grinning animatedly and almost laughing too loud. It was like she was forching herself to laugh. They glanced at each other. Something was up with Katy. The question was what?

"I'm sure you'll get through the exams," Katy encouraged. "You're one of the bravest ninjas I know."

Naruto brightened up at that.

"Really?"

She nodded.

He grinned even wider.

"Thanks, Katy-chan!"

"Your welcome." She turned to Sasuke. Sasuke immediately saw the scared look in her eyes. "Hey, Sasuke? _I need to tell you something before you enter the forest."_

Sasuke heard the quivering tone in her voice. It wasn't hard to identify when she was afraid since she used it alot in the past.

"What is it?"

Katy opened her mouth to say something when another interrupted her.

"Alright, maggots! It's time for the Second part of the Chunin exams to begin!" Anko announced. She pointed over to the stand with the curtain in front of it to avoid others seeing which ninja got which scroll. "Turn in your consent forms over there where you will get your scroll. Once that is done, pick a gate where your team will enter the forest. One team per gate!"

"We should get going now. Bye, Katy, Haku." Sakura waved goodbye to the two and startd walking over to the stand. Naruto gave a quick grin and wave before following her. Sasuke nodded at Haku in goodbye. He smiled in return. Sasuke was about to go when Katy suddenly hugged him. He was caught off guard by the hug and didn't understand until she spoke.

"You better be careful in there, Sasuke. I don't want to hear that you died in this forest or-or worse!"

Sasuke could feel that Katy was shivering. Not from the cold, but from fear. She must have been really scared. His almost-brotherly side appeared as he hugged her.

"Stop worrying or you'll get wrinkle lines," he muttered. "I'll be fine."

"But still! I'm...I'm afraid that..." She trailed off, afraid that someone would overhear them. Katy cried in surprise when she felt a flick to her forehead. She glanced at Sasuke. He scowled.

"Just stop. I'll be alright. I'll come back in one piece, okay?"

Katy frowned, releasing Sasuke. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Fine. But I'm holding you to that promise, got it?"

Sasuke smirked.

"Got it."

He walked away from Haku and Katy to go to Naruto and Sakura. He met up with them and waited until they could turn in their forms. Katy followed their movements towarsd the stand until they disappeared behind the curtain. She didn't relax fro one second even when they walked back in sight and disappeared again to go to a gate. She was really worried for what would happen to them.

"Don't worry, Katy-chan." Katy practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of Haku's voice next to her. Whirling her head towards him, she saw him giving her a comforting smile. "They'll be fine. I believe they will be."

"Yeah..." Katy gave a half-hearted smile though it seemed real to Haku. "I guess you're right."

_I just hope you're right,_ she added quietly. She had a feeling that something bad was going to occur in the future. She just knew it.

---

Yay! I'm finally done with this chapter! And just in time for the Super Bowl too! Not that I care. I only watch it for the commercials.

Ugh. I'm really sorry this is late. I'm getting really busy with school work, especailly for World History. We're doing this big project for our World War I unit where we're having a 'Grand Jury Inquiry' as my teacher puts it. Six countries are going to plead their case that they did not start the war and my classmates have to act as lawyers in order to argue their cases to the Justices. And I'm a justice. That's bad in a way because I have to ask questions throughout the arguments and I'm really shy. I'm freaking out about this because I have to ask or else I'll get a bad grade for the project. Ugh, this sucks!

Okay, now that I'm over that, I have something to ask you guys. I'm already past the Itachi returns arc and I need help deciding something. This is going to reveal some of the stuff that's goiing to happen in the future but oh, well. I need help on whether or not Katy should be put into a ninja team with Haku, Anko, and another person I shall not reveal yet since she could become a ninja if she wants. I want her to, but then I don't. So please, please, _please_ help me decide!

Please tell me if I should or not in your reviews! Please review as always!

-Twilit Angel

P.S. here's the translations for the Filipino words. I'm Filipino myself so I know them by heart! XP

_Balot_- Duck egg

_Lumpia_- Egg rolls filled with meat and vegetables

_Ube_- A sweet purple yam that can be used for all types of food such as a cake flavor, filling, and in ice cream (Which I totally love!)

_Kuya_- Older brother. I call my brother this all the time and I can't call him by his first name. It's too weird to. I actually thought his name was Kuya until I got older. Like with Nii-san, it cand be used with friends and older relatives. Ex: Kuya Anthony, Kuya Sasuke, etc.


	22. Into the forest

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Only own Katy.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 22

Team 7 walked through the dark forest that was the Forest of Death. Only a short time ago they were given the signal to enter the forest. Sasuke, being the unofficial leader of the team (A/N: Since when???), started to lead them through the jungle-like forest.

Anko was not kidding when she said this forest could kill them. The forest was bigger than it looked than from the outside. Everywhere they looked the team only saw large trees, wisps of light shinding down through the cracks of the leaves of the trees. This only made the shadows that danced around them seem more threatening. If Sasuke didn't know any better the tree leaves above could have been dark storm clouds. And from those clouds, lightning could strike down on them in the shape of ninjas. For some strange reason, the forest was also quiet. A bit too quiet for Sasuke's tastes. Silence was one of the many things he wished he had more often as the result of being Katy's friend. Whenever it strolled by his way it would stay for a visit which he appreciated. However, in this case of being a ninja, silence could only get a person killed. Because of this, he made sure that his senses were alert to his surroundings. He could hear the crunch of leaves and dirt under the soles of their feet and feel his teammates' presences. When a loud scream was heard from deep within the forest, Sasuke had to stop himself from pulling out a kunai. Sakura and Naruto jumped at the sound.

"W-Was that a human scream?" Sakura stuttered.

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered. Silently, he pitied the poor fool who got killed so easily. The idiot...

Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat. Her small shoulders shook slightly. "It-It sounded pretty close."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. It's not like anything could happen to us," Naruto reassured her. It was easy to hear the doubtful edge that lined the corners of his words.

_You'd be surprised,_ Sasuke replied to himself. If only Naruto knew that he might get eaten by a snake later that day...

He let out a snort as Naruto openly declared he needed to take a leak. He went over to a bush and almost pulled down his zipper down when Sakura yelled at him to do it behind a tree; somewhere that wasn't in her line of vision. Naruto gave a sheepish laugh before disappearing into the shadows.

_What a dobe,_ was what Sasuke thought at the moment. Didn't Naruto know better than to say that in front of a girl? _And he wonders why Sakura won't date him._

Sasuke and Sakura waited there for a few minutes, waiting for Naruto to finish. During this time, Sasuke was going through his checklis of events. He wasn't quite sure what happened before Orochimaru came to them. It's been so long since he read this arc. Even when he was watching this part of the show before he came here Sasuke couldn't quite remember. Perhaps he should have asked Katy what happened.

_Ugh. I knew I should've brought that volume with me that day! If I did, I wouldn't be wracking my head this much just to remember._

Sasuke was trying so hard to remember. He didn't even notice Naruto step out of the bushes.

Naruto gave a grin and sighed.

"Man, so much came out!" (A/N: That's what she said! Sorry, couldn't resist.)

"I really didn't need to know that!" Sakura snapped at him for saying that in front of her.

He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head embarrassingly.

"Right, sorry."

_Why does this seem so familiar?_ Sasuke asked himself. It felt like deja vu to him. Did this happen before? He started to feel alert as he stared at Naruto. He studied the boy carefully. Sasuke had no ide why, but there was something...off about him. He examined the boy from head to toe. When his eyes came over to his legs, Sasuke knew what was wrong. He knew that the right hand was the most common trait people shared. Everyone Sasuke knew was right handed. Nauto was right handed as well. That would mean he wore his weapon holster on his right leg for easier access to grab a kunai. What Sasuke saw from the Naruto in front of him was that the holster was on his left leg. A light bulb flashed above his head at that moment.

_That isn't Naruto. He's that Ame ninja!_ Sasuke almost smacked himself. Dear God! No _wonder_ this seemed like deja vu to him. This was the event that happened before Orochimaru shows. The Ame ninja had tied up the real Naruto in order to pose as him. That way he could get to their scroll. _He isn't going to get our scroll that easily._

The fake Naruto took a step towards them. Sasuke reacted quickly. He kicked the fake on the chest, sending him flying back. His back hit the trunk of a tree. He slid down, wincing. Sakura gasped at the action.

"Sasuke-kun! Why did you do that? I know Naruto deserved it, but still!"

"Yeah, what's your deal?!" The fake Naruto demanded.

"Give it up. I know you're not Naruto," growled Sasuke, reaching into his weapon holster for a kunai.

"Wh-What?" Sakura stared between Sasuke and fake Naruto with wide eyes. "A-Are you sure?"

The fake Naruto glared at him.

"You're crazy! Of course I'm Naruto!"

"If you're Naruto, where the hell is that scratch that Anko gave him earlier? And why is your weapon holster on your left leg?" Sasuke retorted. He was anxious as it was. He didn't need some Ame ninja typing up his teammate/almost-best-friend and passing as him. "Your transformation skills suck worse than Naruto's. Naruto's right handed and you have the holster on your left leg."

Sakura glanced over at the fake Naruto. She gasped in surprised, seeing that Sasuke was right. She glared at the fake as well. "Who are you? Where's Naruto and what have you done with him?"

The fake chuckled, standing to his feet. He was amused. "You're sharper than you look," he commented. His hand formed a seal, smoke developing around his body. The smoke disappeared to reveal a young man in tan clothing. There was also a strange device in his mouth. The Ame hitai-ate stood out proudly on his forehead. The man took out a kuna, the very corners of his lips twitching up to show that he was smirking. "Now, which of you has the scroll?"

Sasuke and Sakura tensed up, ready for any type of action. They couldn't show that Sasuke had their Heaven scroll. They would risk their lives for the scroll.

The man chuckled when seeing them tense up. It was obvious to see they weren't going to tell him. "Oh, well. I thought this was going to be easy for me. I'll just have to use force then!"

He charged at them. Sasuke reacted immediately, drawing out a kunai. He threw the weapon at the man only to have him dodge it. What he didn't expect was that Sasuke used a fireball jutsu. At the last minute, the man jumped into the air to dodge it . Sasuke followed, glancing at Sakura and yelling, "Find Naruto!"

"R-Right!" Sakura scampered off into the forest to look for their teammate.

Up above the ground, both the Ame ninja and Sasuke landed on the tree branches away from each other. Sasuke leaped at him with a kunai, but the sound of a kunai meeting another was heard. The man landed on another branch, turning the other way to run. Sasuke followed him. As he did so, he caught something on the ground. There he could see Sakura cutting the tropes off of a trapped Naruto. He nearly smiled. Sakura was actually being useful. He didn't smile when he heard a voice shout, "You better pay attention!" Sasuke looked up to see the ninja throw kunai with paper tied to it.

_Shoot!_ Sasuke grabbed a nearby branch quickly and hid behind it as the kunai hit the wood. He almost let out a sigh of relief but tense up at a sizzling sound. He glanced up. His eyes connected with that of a lit paper bomb. _Crap!_

He let go of the branch but was too late. The paper bomb exploded right near Sasuke. The blast sent Sasuke down to the earth. He hadn't gotten hurt. If he didn't let go when he did, the impact of that blast could have killed him. Sasuke neared the ground and flipped to land on his feet. His heart was beating fast from the adreneline. That made him unable to notice the chakra behind him until he felt the kunai near his back. When he did, his body tense up. It was the Ame ninja, he knew.

"You should never let your guard down. But it won't matter when you're dead."

Sasuke noticed another presence nearby. He couldn't help but smirk.

"Should say the same to you."

The ninja didn't get what Sasuke meant. He didn't have to.

"Sasuke!" Naruto came out of the trees, throwing weapons at the Ame ninja. Surprised, the ninja jumped to avoid the weapons. The ninja thought he was safe until another kunai came out of nowhere. He dodged that one easily. However, he was distracted enough to let Sasuke jump at him while thrusting a knife into his flesh. Sasuke had thrown the first kunai to distract the man before using his chakra enhanced feet to jump into the air. The rest was history.

"Are you here with others?" Sasuke demanded, his blood red eyes swirling menacingly.

"No. I came here on my own." The ninja winced, shoving Sasuke away. A few droplets of his blood fell on Sasuke's cheeks, making him even more threatening. The ninja turned, jumping into the trees and out of sigh.

Sasuke nimbly landed on the ground. He gave a short breath of relief. That was close. It was a good thing he remembered that part before anything drastic happened.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura came out of the trees with Naruto behind her. She stopped in front of him, her eyes inspecting him for wounds. A smile graced her lips when seeing no blood but the ones on his cheeks. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah." Sasuke averted his eyes from her. A funny feeling in the pit of his stomach rose when her smile appeared. It was not a bad funny feeling. It was a good one. One that made him confused. Why in the worlds was Sasuke feeling this way? It was so foreign to him. He mentally shook his head to make these feelings disappear.

_Go away, damnit!_

He pushed the feelings away while wiping the blood off his cheeks. He went as far as mentally making a box, shoving those feelings into that box, chaining and locking them away so he would not be plague by them. For now, at least.

---

Team 7 sat on the ground in a small clearing, discussing important matters after what happened. Sasuke decided that they couldn't be allowed to be fooled by appearances no longer (A/N: Good for you, Sasuke! He's not being vain!). Someone would most likely use a transformation jutsu to fool them again. That was why they would use a password system should they be separated. It would be a question and answer password. The question would be, "What kind of person are you?" The answers would be different for all three of them.

For Sakura, her response would be, "I am the cherry blossom that stands again the howling wind with all my might."

For Sasuke, he would respond with, "I am the shadow that hides in the dark, waiting for the moment to make the dark light again."

Naruto's response, however, would be a bit complex for him. His would be, "I am the trickster fox, sneaky and conniving, to trick those I meet with illusions that would lead to their demise."

"Okay, why the hell is mine so long!?" Naruto shouted when hearing his response. He was outrage that Sasuke, who made up their answers on spot, would choose something so long for him to not remember. Which was his plan in the first place.

"Stop complaining. I already memorized mine," said Sakura.

"Yeah, but your's is shorter than mine!"

"Shut up, dobe. Take it or leave it. If you leave it and we meet, I'll just go ahead and kill you for being an imposter," Sasuke threatened. He was in no mood for whining when the fatal and life changing event was close at hand. It was practically breathing down his neck now as the seconds ticked by. He stood up to his feet. "I'll hold onto the scroll. Let's go."

Sakura and Naruto nodded, moving to stand up on their feet. Naruto stopped and suddenly flinched, raising his hand to his right cheek where he was suddenly cut. Sasuke wondered for a second how he could get a cut at random when there was a strange, howling wind. His eyes widened. A strong blast of wind suddenly came out of nowhere, threatening to send them flying. The wind blasted the three genins away from each other and in different directions.

Sasuke ended up landing in the bushes off to the side. He caught himself in midair and landed on his feet. Then he dropped down to the forest floor to hide in the bushes. In his hand, he weilded a kunai. He made no sound, in fear of being heard. He didn't even swallow for he thought that was loud. He tensed up when hearing a noise behind him. Sasuke jumped to his feet and spun around to see Sakura.

Sakura looked relieved to see Sasuke not hurt. "Sasuke-kun." She took a step towards him but froze when he held his kunai in front of him.

"Don't come any closer," Sasuke ordered. He knew that this was Sakura herself, but better safe than sorry. "Answer this question: What kind of person ar you?"

"Right. I am the cherry blossom that stands against the howling wind with all my might."

"Good." Sasuke lowered his weapon yet he was still on guard. He was suddenly feeling anxious. He knew what it was when hearing Naruto shout over to them.

"Hey!" Naruto came out from a direction out of the trees, running toward them.

"Stop right there!" Sakura ordered. Naruto halted mid-step. "What kind of person are you?"

"Oh, that's easy! I am the trickster fox, sneaky and conniving, to trick those I meet with illusions that would lead to their demise," Naruto answered confidently. Sakura was glad for the answer. Sasuke, on the other hand, wasn't. He frowned and threw the kunai quickly at Naruto. Naruto quickly dived to the side to avoid the weapon.

"You've much faster than the last one," Sasuke commented. He took out another kunai, glaring at Naruto who he knew was a fake.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing? He got the answer right; word for word," Sakura said, entirely confused and surprised. Why would Sasuke do such a thing?

"That's the thing. If there's one thing about Naruto that I sure as hell know, it's that he couldn't remember all of that," Sasuke explained. "The real Naruto complained that his response was too long. If he really came, he would just yell at me for making it too long. It would take years for the idiot to remember something so simple."

Sakura suddenly remember how dumb Naruto could be and frowned (A/N: Ouch! He's not _that_ dumb.). "Oh, yet. You're right. Naruto could never remember naything unless it was drilled into him. Even them, he would forget."

The fake Naruto smiled maliciously, licking his lips with a snake-like tongue. "Well, aren't you the clever one?" He was enveloped in a puff of smoke for it to quickly disappear to reveal that Kusa woman from earlier. The one who had given back Anko's kunai. She chuckled. "If your teammate is that dim-witted as you say, why did you create such a long response?"

Sasuke smirked. "It wasn't meant for Naruto's sake at all. It was only created to lure out anyone who might have been eavesdropping. And you landed straight down on that trap."

"I'm impressed," the woman commented, smirking. She took off the conical-shaped tipped hat. "You certainly haven't dropped your guard, have you? This promises to be very entertaining." She licked her lips hungrily in a way Katy would dub "shudder inducing."

Sasuke felt that very shudder go silently down his spine. That was so creepy and disgusting.

_Ugh. Katy was right to have named that action shudder inducing._

The woman lifted a hand to her weapon pouch to withdraw a black lined scroll. Sasuke and Sakura tensed at the kanji label on the scroll. It was the Earth scroll they needed. The woman chuckled at the physical response the two had. "You want this Earth scroll to accompany your Heaven scroll, don't you?" she mused. Then sh did something that made Sasuke try with all his will not to shudder. She brought the scroll to her mouth before shoving the whole thing down her throat. The very way it happened was enough to make someone as stoic as Itachi shudder.

_Okay, I've been officially creeped out,_ Sasuke thought in disgust. _And to think I asked myself why I hated Orochimaru before all of this started._ (A/N: *sigh* You and me both, Sasuke. You and me both.)

"When all of this is over," she said, her hand over her left eye, "one of us will have both scrolls. And ther other will die."

Sakura gasped while Sasuke got ready to attack if this woman-Orochimaru-did anything. He did attack. Just not in the way Sasuke figured.

Both Sasuke and Sakura made the mistake of staring into Orochimaru's eyes. Sasuke was wide-eyed as visions of he and Sakura as they died in numerous ways. One had their bodies ripped to shreds. Another had poison coursing hotly through their viens, slowly killing them. The very last one was of a kunai hitting them squared in the forehead and they were released. Once released, they were stunned by what they saw, then stumbled and fell to the ground. Both were breathing hard.

Sasuke breathed hard, his own breath shaky as it made its way from his lungs and past his lips. His hands were shakily gripping the grass beneath him. He suddenly felt nauseous, but resisted the urge to give up the contents of his stomach. As of now, he was rendered speechless. Only the alarm bells in his head kept him awake.

_Wh-What the heck was that? Even though I know this guy is Orochimaru, how can he have so much bloodlust?_ Sasuke wildly thought. Never before has he felt something as menacing as now. Never in his life back in Sacramento would he be able to experience what just happened. Another ironic thing about this situation was that as Sasuke Hailton, he laughed at the Uchiha's pain and vunerabliity at this part. Now he was experiancing it. For the first time in his life, Sasuke was actually afraid for his own life. Not Katy's. Not Naruto's. His own life.

That is, until he saw Sakura.

Sasuke glanced over to Sakura to see how she was taking this. Shock filled him at the sight of the girl. Sakura was shaking uncontrollably, tears falling down her cheeks yet she never blinked. She was paralyzed with fear like he was. It made a pang of pain strike in his chest. Seeing her so vulnerable like this-like a wilted flower-when he always saw her smiling around him made Sasuke's chest hurt. He didn't bother to question why this made him hurt. Sasuke felt something rise rebelliously in him as he only had one current thought.

_I have to protect Sakura. Even if it kills me, I have to make sure she doesn't get hurt._

---

Okay, chapter done. Sorry this is late. I was busy with school again. I've had to do a project for Biology and practice a song and choreography for my vocal class. That, and my brother wouldn't hand over my laptop.

Well, I'm going to go now. I'm tired. Please review!

-Twilit angel


	23. Changing events

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 23

"Ahh!"

Katy flinched at the horrifying scream that echoed from within the forest behind her. She sat on the roof of the stand where the remaining genins received their scrolls. Sitting by her were Haku and Anko. Anko finished eating her snack and was sipping her beverage. At the same time, she was taking turns with Haku to throw kunai at a tree in order to form the Konoha symbol.

_Thunk_

"Katy-chan, are you okay?"Haku asked. He saw that she flinched.

_Thunk_

"I'm fine, Haku. I'm just a little jumpy, I suppose," Katy answered with a grin.

_Thunk_

"About what?" Anko asked, placing her beverage down.

_Thunk_

Katy shrugged. "Just worried about Sasuke and the others, I guess. That forest is pretty creepy."

_Thunk_

Haku patted her shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

_Thunk_

"But what if I was worried because I saw a strange man with some creepy snake eyes enter the forest?"

_Swish-Thunk!_

Anko threw her kunai, but missed her target. She stared at Katy with surprised eyes.

"Wh-What did you say?"

"Yeah, I saw a man with black hair and yellowish eyes enter the forest with the other genin. I thought he could have been a genin, but he gave a scary vibe that said he was more powerful than on. He also reminded me of a snake because of his eyes, and the creepy way he licked his lips." Katy shuddered at the thought of that. She couldn't help it. "Why?"

If it were possible, Anko's eyes grew as wide as saucer plates. Haku and Katy glanced at each other then at Anko. What was wrong with her?

"Anko-san, are you okay?" Haku asked.

She didn't seem to hear him. She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the ground. Jumping down from the roof, Anko started to bit her thumbnail and paced in anxiousness. With what, it was hard to tell. She was muttering obscenities under her breath. Words that Katy's mother would hit her for. When she was done, she whirled around to face Katy with fire in her eyes.

"Katy, was that man looking at anyone in particular?"

"I saw him staring at Sasule. That's why I'm so worried." For added effect, Katy bit her lip in nervousness.

Anko gasped. "Shit! He's after the Uchiha!"

Haku tensed up.

"Who is after Sasuke?"

"Someone dangerous," she ominously uttered. Anko ran towards a gate that would lead her into the forest. She paused when Haku called her, jumping down from the roof and walked towards her. "What do you want? I need to find the Uchiha before it's too late."

"I'm going with you," Haku stated. Behind her, Katy gasped. She jumped down from the roof and ran to him. Anko blinked at him.

"Why do you want to come? It's too dangerous."

"I know. But Sasuke is my friend. He and Katy-chan offered a home for me when I had nowhere else to go. And also, Sasuke means a lot to Katy-chan." He glanced over his shoulder to Katy. She was biting her lip and wringing her hands together in worry. Anko saw a flash of sadness and longing in Haku's eyes before it changed to determination. "I won't let anyone hurt my friends. Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Katy-chan are a part of my life now. I will not standby and let them die."

Anko studied Haku. She may have met the boy today, but she could tell that he was determined when he could be. She recognized the same look in his eyes from the Uchiha and his blond teammate. Also, those eyes have seen pain. The pain of losing someone close, the pain of being betrayed...She knew that pain all too well. She closed her eyes, sighing.

"Just don't get in my way."

"I won't," Haku confidently said.

"Haku, are you sure?" Katy asked in worry. She didn't want Haku to get hurt. With what was happening in the forest, he could get killed. She received a mere smile.

"Do not worry, Katy-chan. I will not get hurt," he said, instantly knowing what she was thinking. "I swear I will help protect Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto from whoever is after them."

"Yeah, don't worry, Katy," Anko chimed. She grinned at her, giving a thumb's up. "I'll make sure your little friend won't get hurt."

Katy stared at her two friends. She never expected that the two of them would do this. And for her, no less! Sasuke was the only friend she truly ever had. Back before she met Sasuke, all of the other kids avoided her because she was weird. Girls teased her for liking manga instead of clothes and boys. Boys avoided her because she was 'too ugly' for them. She could never make friends. Katy didn't even know it was like to have a friend until Sasuke came along. Havings two of the first friends she ever had in her life promise to help Sasuke was...strange. But good. She was so happy, she teared her.

"Th-Thank you."

"No problem. It's what friends do." Anko turned to Haku. "Let's go."

"All right. I'll be back soon," Haku said to Katy.

She nodded. "Be careful."

Anko nodded. She turned and ran into the forest. Haku moved to follow her, but he surprised Katy by kisiing her on the cheek. Katy felt heat rush to her fact at that moment. Haku pulled away. With a genuine smile on his face, he dashed past the gate boundaries and disappeared into the dark forest.

Katy stood there, dazed. Lifting up her hand to her face, she touched where Haku kissed her. Her fingretips touched her hot skin. A thoughtful expression appeared. That was so strange. Why in the world would Haku kiss her twice? The first kiss on the bridge was to show he was not gay. But why did he kiss her on the cheek for a second time? Was it to prove something? She sighed.

_Boys. I will _never_ fully understand them._

She bit her lip nervously, staring at the sun that started to set. Yellow and orange light shadowed part of her face. She turned back to the forest.

_Haku, please get there in time._

---

In the forest, Sasuke was trying to calm his shaky body and rapid beating heart. That was not working very well. Fear was overwhelming him to the point his body would not obey any of his commands. He could only sit on the ground, sitting uncontrollably.

"Ah, you're paralyzed with fear," Orochimaru mused. "I thought you would be more of a challenge."

Sasuke wobbly stood to his feet, but that was as far as he could move his body. He was too frozen in fear. He cursed at this.

_Damn! We have to get out of here before he kills us,_ he quickly thought. _But my body won't move!_

He felt his eyes widen a fraction more as he watched Orochimaru pull out two kunai. He was smiling wickedly.

"It's a shame you have to die." He chuckled. "But I will endure the loss."

Orochimaru flicked his wrist sharply, sending the kunai flying towards Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke started to pani. He and Sakrua were going to die if he didn't do anything. He tried again to move his body. it still wouldn't respond. Cursing at it again, he tried to think of how he could make his body react. A wild idea popped into his head at that moment. He acted on it.

Sasuke gripped his right hand quickly to activate the mechanism hidden inside his right arm warmer. The quick action made the hidden knife appear. Then Sasuke grabbed the blade roughly between his fingers to make it cut in there. He winced at the sharp pain that made his body untense. He could move again. Using this chance, he activated his Sharingan and quickly grabbed Sakura. Then he jumped into the trees, dodging the kunai. He kept running into the trees then halted immediately to duck behind on of the trees. He dropped Sakura unceremoniously on the ground and seated himself on the ground next to her, his back against the tree trunk. He was breathing heavily, totally relieved.

_Oh, my god. I can't believe I just did that._ Sasuke never imagined he could do something like that or do something so reckless. The sensible side of him was scolding him for doing such a thing, grabbing the knife like that. His hand could get infected! But his survival side of him said that it was the only way he could stay alive. If he didn't do what he had done, he would be dead right now. Sasuke glanced at his hand. Opening his palm, he flinched as the skin in between his fingers retracted from the silver weapon. Crimson blood flooded down his hand. It dropped down to his palm and to his wrist. He grimaced. _Only a few hours into this exam and I'm already hurt. Does God hate me or something? Because it seems like it fro making me go through all this crap._

"Sasuke-kun, are y-you okay?" Sakura gasped, staring at his bleeding wound.

"I'm fine," he muttered, examining the wound. It didn't look that bad, nor was it too deep of a cut. If he wrapped his hand up, it would be just fine. He was about to get some bandages out of his pouch when he heard a sudden hissing noise. It sounded like a snake.

_A snake? Damn it!_

Sasuke tensed up and whirled his head to the side. He felt himself pale a bit. Right near him and Sakura was a giant snake. It was as big as a building. It unhinged its jaw to reveal fangs that were as long as a person. The snake could probably swallow a horse whole! Then the snake lunged at them. Sasuke quickly pushed Sakura away from the branch and jumped into the air. The snake missed its target and clamped onto the branch the two genin once occupied. Seeing it missed, the snake saw Sasuke in the air and lunged at him with fluid movements. Sasuke felt fear in him once again; adrenaline pumped through his veins.

"No! Get away from me!" In an act of desperation, Sasuke withdrew kunai and shuriken from his holster and threw them at the snake. The weapons hit their mark. They hit the inside of the snake's mouth, making it drop onto a low branch. Sasuke himself landed on a branch, breathing heavily. Peering over to the snake, he saw blood flow down the wood. The snake was dead. However, he didn't think twice about relaxing. Orochimaru was strong. That snake had more tricks up his sleeve.

Something started to rise out of the corpse of the snake. Orochimaru, as Sasuke predicted, rost out of the scales of his dead pet, covered in snake goo. Sasuke felt another shudder go up his spine. Ugh, yet another creepy thing about him that creeped him out.

"You must never let your guard down," said Orochimaru. "You may not know if the predator can still strike!"

He started to slither and coil around a nearby tree some feet away from Sasuke. Sasuke knew he couldn't stand there. he didn't want to be a host body to a pedophile snake lord like Orochimaru. He was gettting out of there. He moved to get away from the approaching snake when suddenly, kunai came out of nowhere to hit the wood in Orochimaru's way. Orochimaru paused, glancing up into the trees. Sasuke and Sakura followed suit and were shocked and surprised to see Naruto standing there. He grinned triumphantly at them.

"Hey, Sasuke! I forgot my answer again!"

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted in relief. Sasuke couldn't help but feel made at Naruto for making Sakura pay more attention to him.

"Naruto! Don't fight him. He's on a whole different level," Sasuke ordered him. If Naruto fought Orochimaru, he could get killed.

"What are you talking about? We can handle him," Naruto retorted confidently. He then gave an angry look towards Orochimaru. "It looks like you're picking on the weak."

Orochimaru chuckled, making the bottom half of his body turning back into legs. "Very observant of you, Naruto-kun. You aren't as dim-witted as I thought you were."

_What to do now? Naruto being here doesn't change the fact that we're screwed over._ Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek in thought. He knew that until he lit the firework he had, no one was going to come to the rescue. He had to light the explosive soon, but couldn't right now. Not when Orochimaru was watching. He clenched his fist, narrowing his eyes at the enemy. _I need a distraction. If that distraction workds, I can light it for Anko-hopefully-to locate us. But how? All I can do is offer up _that_ when I shouldn't. Damn! I have no choice but to._

Sasuke sighed, seeing no other choice. He reached into his weapons pouch to pull out a white scroll with the kanji character for heaven on it. He held it up to Orochimaru. "Here. We'll give you our Heaven scroll if you let us go."

"What?" Sakura gasped.

"Teme, what the hell are you doing?!" Naruto demanded. Did Sasuke lose his mind? "Why are you giving up our scroll!?"

Sasuke ignored him.

"I see what you are doing," Orochimaru observed. "In order for the prey to escape the predator, the predator must be given a different prey."

Sasuke made no comment at his statement. He tossed the scroll over to Orochimaru. What he sort of expected was Naruto leaping from his position above to grab their scroll before Orochimaru got it. Naruto landed near Sasuke, who was angry with his teammate. Why did he go and do that? If Orochimaru actually believe he was giving up their scroll, he would be distracted enough for Sasuke to light the firework. Now Naruto ruined it! He opened his moust to berate his teammate but was caught off guard as Naruto punched him in the face. He landed on the ground, surprised. He was even more so to see Naruto's tsunami dark blue eyes directed at him.

"What did you do to the real Sasuke? The real Sasuke wouldn't do something as stupid as that and be a coward!" Naruto harshly accused.

Sasuke felt his own temper flare.

"You idiot! It _is_ me!"

"Liar! I know the real Sasuke wouldn't be the coward in front of me! He wouldn't even give up our scroll just like that! How could you know if he was actually going to let us go if we gave him our scroll?!" He gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing his slits. "You're too freaked out to understand what's going on," he said with a low growl.

Sasuke froze at his teammate's words. He had never been scolded like that from someone that wasn't Katy. Katy always scolded him harshly whenever he did something stupid. Her scolding appeared a lot for their first few months there in Konoha. He was used to being called an idiot by Katy. However, he wasn't ready for it when Naruto did it. When he said those words, he felt almost ashamed of himself. How could he have done something stupid like that? It was pretty pathetic of him if he was being looked down on by his idiot of a teammate. That made him feel really low.

"He is right," Orochimaru chuckled. He lifted up the sleeve of his left arm to reveal a black tattoo in the form of a snake curling around his forearm. At the end of the snake, the head came together to bare their fangs at each other leaving a space in the center between them. He bit the pad of his thumb to let crimson liquid flow through. With a smirk, he swiped his thumb in the center of those two snakes. A large puff of smoke emitted out of thin air, then cleared to reveal yet another giant snake. Orochimaru stood on its head.

Sasuke felt like crying in frustration at the sight of the snake. How many snakes was he going to summon before he got tired of it? This was his third summon already. Orochimaru was really cruel to animals. This had to be animal cruelty.

A battle cry caught Sasuke's attention. It was Naruto, not to his surprise, as he charged straight towards the snake. Sasuke knew Naruto was no match against the snake when the snake headbutted him, sending him flying into the trees. Naruto crashed through at least four large tree branches before his back met another branch. Sasuke was stiff when blood flew out of his mouth on contact. Then Naruto landed down on a branch below.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried in horror. Her and Sasuke's eyes widened a bit as Naruto stood to his feet and launched himself at the snake. He punched the snake, but that barely made a scracth. The snake hissed at him and bare its fangs. It bit at Naruto but he dodged and attacked again. Sakura had a hand in front of her mouth, her emerald eyes wide with shock. "Naruto...Naruto's snapped!"

Sasuke didn't know what to think as he watched Naruto fight Orochimaru's snake. He felt like he was watching this fight from a different angle; like he wasn't watching from his body. A part of him knew he only felt like this because he watched this fight as if he was apart of the fight. Right now, though, it didn't feel like it. He felt as if he was an observer and he couldn't do anything to help. He felt...helpless. Sasuke wanted to help Naruto to show he was not a coward. What could he do though? He didn't have a demon sealed in him like Naruto and Gaara did. He didn't even have a special power to help him nor did he want it. All he had were his smarts, his eyes, and jutsus, and the firework.

_The firework!_ He suddenly realized. He still had his secret weapon! Looking at the fight, it seemed like Orochimaru was too focused on trying to kill Naruto. This was the perfect time to light it, he knew. Sasuke quickly reached into his weapon pouch to retrieve the flashy explosive. With shaky hands, he threw the firework into the air and quickly made hand signs for a fireball jutsu. A fireball shot out of his lips and directly at the firework.

The result was instant.

When the fireball hit the explosive, it burned away the paper of the outer shell to get to the flammable weapon within. The fire quickly got to it. This set off the firework's true purpose. A loud screeching noise flew through the air. The screech was so high pitched that it made everyone in a five-mile radius to hear it. Sasuke and Sakura had to cover their ears from being so close. They flinched at the lound sound, making them miss the colorful display of fireworks like the kind that exploded in the sky. The fireworks help light up the forest to make it seem less intimidating.

Sasuke still clutched his ears as the colorful show continued. Although his eyes were closed, he could tell the show was still going on by the shockwaves that pounded against his chest. He could have mistaken it for the beating of his own heart. Through the blast and screeching, he heard a hissing noise getting nearer. At the same time he felt a familiar chakra coming near him. Faintly, he also heard Sakura screaming his name. He opened his eyes in time to see a flash of green, then orange and blond hair. Sasuke tensed as he found himself facing Naruto, who as holding off Orochimaru's snake.

Naruto grinned at him, his red eyes fixed at him, laughing.

"Are you okay...Scaredy-cat?"

Sasuke was brought back at the insult. He glared at Naruto. How dare he call him a scaredy cat! He was anything but that. Well, not recently. Naruto had every right to all him that. He clenched his fists, giving a glare at Naruto.

_Naruto...He's strong yet stubborn. He isn't a coward and has something to strive towards. His Ninja way is to never give up...When push comes to shove, Naruto is always there,_ he thought angerly. _I hate Naruto's strength and will. He's always the good guy who can't go wrong. He acts like he can empathize with every lonely person he meets when he can't. At times of desperation, he always comes through in the end. I hate that! I hate that this is getting to me!_

Sasuke hated himself and Naruto. He hated Naruto for being so damn reliable,even when he was the main hero. Naruto had so many features and qualites that anyone who met him would become his friend. What was worse was that the same thing happened to him. As much as he disliked to say it, Naruto was now one of his closest friends and rival. Their rivalry in the beginning had soon turned into friendship. He hated that and hated himself for admiring Naruto and having respect for him. He just hated it.

All hate-filled thoughts towards Naruto ended soon. Sasuke was surprised as a long tongue suddenly wrapped around Naruto's waist. Naruto was lifted into the air and was suspended in front of Orochimaru. Noticing what was happening, Naruto struggled to escape but could not. He was securely tied down.

Orochimaru held Naruto still and began to study him as if he were a science experiment went right. "I see... So this is what happened to the Kyuubi," he mused, staring at the black spiral tattoo that was displayed on Naruto's stomach. "The seal seems to be showing. When your emotions are heightened, the power of the Kyuubi flows. How interesting..."

Sasuke felt a huge deja vu at this moment. He was remembering what was about to happen next. Something that shouldn't have even happened to Naruto in the series. He held his breath and felt his anger rise as Orochimaru's five fingertips glowed a sinister purple. There was no way he was going to stand by as Orochimaru screwed up the Kyuubi seal on Naruto. Sasuke brought his hands together and jumped into the air as he quickly went through a set of seals.

"Fire style: Great Fireball jutsu!" he cried, a large fireball aimed at Orochimaru. When seeing the fireball coming towards him, he released Naruto to jump out of the way. Naruto somehow lost consciousness in all of this and began free falling. Sasuke nimbly landed on a branch before he retracted a kunai and threw it towards his teammate. The kunai caught onto Naruto's jacket then hit a tree trunk, suspending Naruto in the air. Sasuke faced Sakura on a tree branch opposite to his and said, "Get Naruto and see if he's okay!"

Sakura blinked a few times and nodded.

"O-Okay!"

She shakily jumped from branch to branch towards Naruto. Out of her prephrial vision, she saw something flying towards her. Turning her head, she gasped to see that they were weapons. She flinched to brace herself of the sharp objects. They never came. Instead, a clang of metal meeting metal resounded through the area. Sakura looked on with surprise at Sasuke, who threw his own weapons to deflect the ones that came toward her. From far away she could see the Sharingan spinning in his eyes and he mouthed, _GO!_ at her. She nodded again and continued to head towards their unconscious teammate.

Sasuke was happy that Sakura was listening to him before turning to Orochimaru. He had to stop himself from growling at the amused smirk his enemy held at him.

"Stay. The. Hell, Away, From. My. Friends!" he emphasized each word with a hiss. He was pissed. He was _extremely_ pissed. There were no words to describe how pissed off he was. And all of this anger was directed at the man some way from him. First he had gone after Naruto. That only started his temper. What really made him seethe with anger was that he went after Sakura. Sakura was a sweet, innocent girl who had nothing to do with this and Orochimaru tried to attack her. Sasuke didn't know why, but the thought of Sakura getting hurt made him feel very protective of her at the moment. "If you even touch them, I _will_ kill you!"

His threats did not seem to affect Orochimaru. Instead, he laughed as if he heard a funny joke.

"So you wish to kill me?" he laughed. The creepy laugh died down quickly and turned into a smirk. He lifted up a hand and made a hand gesture that said _Bring it_. "Then come. Use your anger against me if you wish for your friends to live."

Going against all rational thought of fighting him, Sasuke would take him up on that offer. He took out a kunai from his holster and placed it in between his teeth by the sharp edge. Then he took two more out and charged at Orochimaru. Orochimaru smirked at his confidence and spread out his arms to create a dome of high pressured wind around him. The wind prevented Sasuke from charging at him straight on so he jumped into the air and threw his kunai. The kunai sailed straight at Orochimaru. He easily dodged it by moving his head sideways. Sasuke growled as he rebounded off a tree and flew down at Orochimaru with a flying kick. He dodged the kick then blocked a punch.

Sasuke fought Orochimaru in hand-to-hand combat, dodging any punched and trying to land a hit himself. He dodged a punch to retaliate with a kick. Orochimaru jumped back to avoid the hit. With a grin, he disappearedand started to run around Sasuke at top speed. With his Sharingan, he was able to track Orochimaru's movements. Suddenly and abruptly, he disappeared from his sight.

_Where did he go?_ Sasuke looked wildly around, trying to locat Orochimaru. Where was he? He looked behind him when he sensed chakra above. Gasping, he jumped to the right just as Orochimaru came flying down with a kunai. Then he disappeared out of his sight again. Before he could even have time to react, he felt a chakra behind him. Instinctively, he turned his head to be suddenly elbowed in the face. Sasuke flew back and caught himself in the air to land on his fee. Orochimaru ran at him and instinct took over. He made a hand sign and opened his mouth to let fire burst out from his mouth. The fire consumed Orochimaru. Sasuke panted, cutting off his chakra. He hoped to God that he would burn.

As luck had it, he didn't. Actually he wasn't even there. The fire cleared away to reveal only a scorched wood. There was no sort of body or corpse anywhere. Sasuke wondered where he went. He was caught off when he was kicked in the back. Again, he had no time to react at all when Orochimaru came in front of him to punch him in the cae then kneed him in the stomach. He was kicked in the chest and landed on the ground. He didn't get up.

"Was that all you could do?" Orochimaru taunted, walking over to where Sasuke lay. He was amused at the boy. "I had thought you would be fighting at your fullest."

Sasuke kept still, trying to act like he was knocked out. He could feel the evil man looming over him. Now that he was close enough, he peeked open one eye and made a hand sign as inconspicuously as he could. There was no need to.

Orochimaru was surprised when something exploded right on him. He staggered in his position while out of the corners of his eyes, Sasuke shoved himself to his feet and got away from him. Now that Sasuke was away from him it was time to get down to business. He jumped back onto another branch while throwing as many weapons around Orochimaru. Orochimaru dodged each one, but it didn't matter he dodged them. He didn't know that the weapons had ninja wire tied to them until they were all around him.

Sasuke was on the other branch by now. He pulled at the wire tightly to capture Orochimaru and tied him tightly to one of the tree trunks. He put on end of a wire in his mouth and had two more in each hand as he started to use hand signs that was different from his usual fire jutsus.

"Fire style: Dragon flame jutsu!"

Red hot flames erupted around Sasuke and shot down the wire around Orochimaru. The fire surrounded the tree and engulfed him. A loud pained scream sounded throughout the area. Sooner than Sasuke would have liked, the jutsu ended. The flames around the tree died down to reveal a more than scorched tree with Orochimaru still tied to it. Sasuke breathed heavily at the sight of his foe. His foe may not have been moving, but it was not over yet.

"Sasuke-kun!" At the sound of his name, he knew it was Sakura. She jumped down the branches as best as she could with Naruto's body weight next to her. Near him now, she smiled with relief. "You did it, Sasuke-kun! But are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Sasuke panted. He really was fine, save for the fact that he was as tired as hell. The last jutsu he used was his most powerful so far. When he was learning this jutsu, Katy was always so pissed to see him come home with burns and scroched clothes. She told him that he shouldn't use that jutsu so much because not only did he come home with burns, Anko had to drag him home for using that. That particular fire jutsu took up a huge chunk of his chakra. That was why he was so tired right now. He ignored his exhaustion for now and said, "Come on. We need to find some place to rest and wait for Naruto to wake up."

Sakura nodded, knowing that was a good idea.

Sasuke and Sakura were about to go off on their merry way. They both froze, however, when Orochimaru stepped out of the wires like it was nothing. That wasn't what froze them. It was the fact that he made a hand seal was what made them freeze. Or rather, become paralyzed.

"It's impressive that you can use your Sharingan very well at your age," Orochimaru commented. He chuckled creepily. At the same time, his chuckle went from a girlish one to a low, baritone voice. None the less, Sasuke was still creeped out. "You live up to the Uchiha name. I want you after all." He lifted up a hand to his hitai-ate and covered it. Then he pulled away for the Kusa village symobl to be replaced by an eight note-the symbol for the village hidden in the Sound. "You two are definitely brothers. Your eyes say that you carry more potential than Itachi."

"Itachi...?" Sasuke, at that point, was struggling to move his body again, but he paused at his brother's name. He hated the way Orochimaru siad that name. Sasuke may not have remembered Itachi much as a brother, but as a fan of his favorite character he sure as hell hated how he said his name with familiarity. He was jealous that this man got to know Itachi when he couldn't even remember him. And he was his brother! Another thing was added to his list of hating Orochimaru. "Who are you!?"

Orochimaru, instead of answering him, took out their heaven scroll Sasuke offered up earlier. They were shocked when green flames erupted on it, burning it away. Sasuke was silently thanking Katy as he saw this. The scroll that Orochimaru burned was not the real scroll. Instead, it was a copy that Katy forged herself some time ago. He found it lying on the kitchen table that morning while making breakfast. He didn't know how she got a look at the real scroll to forge it, nor did he care. He just took it thinking it would be useful. And it was.

"My name is Orochimaru," he said. "If you wish to see me again, get through this exam as if your life depended on it. In other words, you'll have to defeat my suboridnates, the three Oto ninja."

"What are you talking about? We never want to see your face again!" Sakura yelled in both anger and fear. She took the words right out of Sasuke's mouth.

"It doesn't work that way."

Orochimaru made a handseal that made Sasuke's blood run cold. His neck extended and launched at Sasuke. His eyes widened, seeing the man's head launch at him. Many thoughts ran through his head at that moment.

No! He failed. No matter how hard he tried, it was inevitable. He was going to get bitten and receive the curse mark. Sasuke failed everyone. Everyone's future was going to be ruined because he couldn't avoid this event. The way Konoha was going to end up as was going to be his fault. He couldn't protect his new and old home. He felt like crying in frustration, but instead closed his eyes, ready for his shameful punishment.

It never came.

"Crystal ice mirrors!"

Sasuke snapped open his eyes just as Sakura gasped in surprise. Sasuke was shocked as well as he found himself staring at his reflection on an icy surface in front of him. That was the jutsu of someone he knew well. Just past the icy mirror, he could see Orochimaru's neck was back to normal with a scowl on his face. It was directed at something in the trees. Sasuke followed his ling of sight to see two familiar faces.

"Haku! Anko!" Sakura exclaimed in relief.

Haku ran over to them while Anko stood on a branch, glaring at Orochimaru as if to kill. Orochimaru merely smirked. Haku got to them and knelt by Sakura to check Naruto.

"H-How did you find us?" Sakura asked.

"Anko found out that a man far above the level of a genin had entered the forest and was after Sasuke," Haku explained. He finished examining Naruto and confirmed he was fine. "We went into the forest to find this man, but we had no idea where he was. Then he heard explosions and a screeching noise. We decided to follow that noise and here we are." He glanced over to where Anko was hissing at an amuse Orochimaru. His eyes suspiciously looked at him. "So is he the one Katy told us about?"

"Yeah, he is." Sasuke found that he could move his body again. Good. "We have to get out of here," he stated.

"I know." Haku helped Sakura up to her feet and together, draped Naruto's arms around their shoulders to carry them. "Let's go."

With a nod, the group of four barely jumped onto another branch when Orochimaru emerged from the wood in front of them. Sakura gasped at the ruined face with a single yellow eyes studying them.

"You are not going anywhere just yet. Sasuke-kun and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

Orochimaru started charging at them when a purple and tan blur appeared between them. He stopped and smirked.

"Anko-chan, it's been awhile."

"Leave these kids alone. You're fighting me before you get to them." Anko glanced at Haku. "Get them out of here while I distract'em."

Haku nodded firmly before running off into the forest with Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke hesitated but quickly followed them. He felt guilt and relieved as they moved farther and farther away from them. He was guilty because he knew Anko was going to have her curse mark reappear. He was relieved because he wasn't going to get a curse mark of his own. He didn't fail after all. That was such a relief. He didn't screw up their futures. Sasuke was glad for this.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if anything else was going to occur because he wasn't bitten. Since he changed destiny, would some new event occur? If there was, he could only hope it would be for the better or not harm any of his friends; especially Katy.

---

"Good night!" Katy bid to Tsubaki as they close the shop for the night. She exited the shop as the lights turned off and began to walk down the street. Although it was late, most of the shops were still open with people still lingering around. Katy didn't notice the people around her. She only thought of those close to her.

It has been three days since Haku and Anko set off into the Forest of Death to rescue Team 7 from Orochimaru. Something must have happened in the forest, because neither Anko or Haku came back. They should have returned to tell her the good news. She was praying to God that it was good news. For two nights, Katy had been worried that something might have happened to Haku and Anko if they didn't come back immidiately. She hoped they and Team 7 were all right.

She turned a corner that led into a dark alley. The alley was long and had trash lining both sides of the path. Most of all, it was dark enough to not allow light in. this alley was something that Katy should have avoided taking. It was practically screaming, _I'm a dangerous place! Don't come here unless you want to get raped!_ She didn't seem to care much as she entered the alley.

This alley was actually a shortcut that led to a back path to the Uchiha estate. At first this alley scared her because she thought of getting raped. As time passed she realized no one would actually come this way because it was full of trash. Katy didn't mind the trash very much so the alley became her personal shortcut home.

She walked down the alleyway, only her footsteps and the crumpling sounds of garbage being stepped on filling Katy's ears. She shivered at the silence, hugging her arms for warmth. Okay, this alleyway may have been her shortcut but today she felt creeped out. There was something about the alley tonight that scared her. It seemed darker than usual because of there was no moon in the sky. The silence was deafening in her ears as well.

_Maybe I should have gone the long way, _Katy thought. A small rustle behind her made her jump and freeze. She held her breath in fear. She considered turning around to see what it was. _If this is anything like a horror movie, it's probably not a good idea to turn around. If I turn around, it could be a rapist or something._

Katy heard another rustle. Against her thoughts, she slowly turned around and searched through the darkness. Well, she may not be able to see well but she couldn't see man-sized silhouettes. She let out the breath she was holding in relief. Good. She wasn't about to get raped.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash right near her. Katy let out a scream at the noise and closed her eyes. Silence followed after ward. Except for her loud beating heart in her ears, she heard nothing else. Then came a small "Meow!" Hearing that, she slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She untensed her body when she saw a calico cat sitting nearby. She could tell it was a cat by its glowing eyes through the dark.

"Oh, it's just a cat." Katy laughed, letting out all of her early fear. She had been scared by a cat. A cat and nothing else. "I'm getting paranoid. Nothing bad ever happens to someone in real life like somone in movies are killed in alleys. I'm just stressed out and worried."

Still laughing, she started to walk down the alley. After only a few steps, she heard another rustle beside her. She stared in that direction and grinned.

"The cat probably has friends around here." Katy held a hand down to a pile of trash. "Here, kitty, kitty! I won't hurt you. Here, kitty!"

There was another rustle and a hissing noise. She felt alarmed at the hiss. That was _not_ a cat hiss. She knew what cats sounded like when they hissed from experiance. After all, she owned a cat. This was a different kind of hiss that scared her to her very core. She pulled her hand back quickly when something shot out of the trash. Katy gave a half scream-half gasp of pain as something sharpt penetrated her wrist. The attack was so sudden that she stumbled back against the brick walls of the alley. The thing that attacked her dislodged itself from her wrist. She whimpered at the pain. Suddenly, her vision began to blur.

_Wh-What just bit me?_ Katy groaned. She began to feel so dizzy and her knees were so weak. Her legs couldn't support her anymore. They turned to jelly as she slowly slid down the wall to the ground. She breathed heavily, groaning. _Every part of me is so heavy._ _I can't see straight anymore._

"That was easier than I thought," a voice chuckled through the darkness. The voice sent a shudder of fear down her spine. She knew that voice. With a huge effort, she lieft up her head slightly to see through half-lidded eyes a man's silhouette hovering above her. A hand was under her chin and it made her look up higher. "Ah, yes. You could prove useful to me and a perfect specimen for _that._"

_That? Wha...?_

The hand let go of her. Katy felt her body become too heavy to even sit up. She felt herself all on the ground, lying on her side. She was panting by this time. With all her will and might, she tried to keep her eyes from falling but they were getting so heavy. She lost the battle. Her heavy eyelids closed slowly, her consciousness slipping. The last thing she heard before she slipped under was the low chuckled that echoed through her mind.


	24. Where is she?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 24

"Congratulations to those of you who have passed through the Preliminaries," the proctor, Hayate, was saying after the Preliminaries of the Third Exam ended. The proctor coughed as he was a very sick man. "Hokage-sama will explain the Main Exam."

The Third Hokage nodded and stepped forward and started to explain what was happening in the Main Exams. Sasuke barely heard a word as he was thinking. So many things happened in the past week and he felt the need to recap what happened.

After Team 7 escaped the clutches of Orochimaru himself, they found it best to rest for awhile. Haku didn't leave as he finally realized he had no idea where the entrance to the forest was again. Sasuke sighed at his idiocy and decided it was best that Haku joined them to head for the tower. Before they could even do that they had to wait for Naruto to wake up. A few hours later after they took shelter in a tree, three Sound ninjas ambushed them and demanded to fight Sasuke. Sasuke took up that challenge with Haku to help protect Naruto and Sakura. The fought with the two males of the group. The two obviously had the upper hand against Sasuke and Haku because of their sound and air attacks. Sasuke was almost defeated when Lee came out of nowhere to lend a hand. Lee fought agains the bandaged man, Dosu, with his taijutsu, but his attacks proved futile. Dosu ended up knocking Lee out by making him too dizzy to even fight. Haku couldn't really help fight against Dosu as his hands were full with his teammate, Zaku. (A/N: Haha. Haku vs. Zaku. It rhymes!)

Sasuke was about to fight Dosu when he suddenly heard Sakura scream. He saw that Sakura couldn't move because the Sound girl, Kin, was gripping her hair. He was about to go help her but Dosu got in his way saying, "Your fight is with me, Uchiha." Sasuke grew angry. He had to help Sakura but this guy was in his way. He had gotten so mad that he activated his Sharingan and attacked the man.

A few minutes later, Sasuke eventually knocked Dosu out. He learned later that Haku also succeeded in his fight as well as Sakura, to his surprise. Apparently while he fought, Sakura had to cut her hair with a kunai to escape Kin's clutches and fougth her as best as she could. Her best wasn't good enough as Kin was more skilled than her. That was when Ino came out of the bushes to help Sakura and together, the two beat Kin.

Neji, TenTen, Shikamaru, and Chouji came out of their hiding places when all of the fighting was over. Naruto woke up at that moment as well. He was wondering what everyone was doing there and Haku explained everything to him. As he was doing that, Neji and TenTen went to awaken their teammate while Ino offered to fix Sakura's hair. Sakura agreed and started having her hair fixed. From nearby, Sasuke was looking at Sakura's short hair. He frowned at it, unconsiously thinking that he liked her hair longer and thought it was better long. On the other hand, it was cuter short.

_What the hell!? Cute!?_ Sasuke mentally screamed when he thought that thought. He was bewildered he even called Sakura cute. _What the hell am I thinking?! Sakura is not cute! She's a fangirl. And she's my fucking _teammate_, for God's sake! I can't think of her that way!_

He had no idea what he was thinking.

After everything was done with, the three teams then seperated to go retrieve their scrolls. However, Team 7 already had both scrolls as Haku snatched the Earth scroll the Sound ninja had and Sasuke telling his team that the scroll Orochimaru burned was a fake. All they needed to do was head to the Tower.

It took two days to get to the Tower. It took that long because they kept getting ambushed by other ninjas. That included the Rain ninja from the first day. The only difference was that he brought his friends. His friends that could make many, _many_ copies of themselves. Sasuke was actually glad for Naruto once and his trademark jutsu_ Kage bunshin no jutsu._ If it wasn't for that jutsu, they would have lost their scrolls.

When they finally reached the Tower, they opened the two scrolls and Iruka was the one to greet them. Iruka told them what it was to be a chunina and all of them followed the poem they read before opening the scrolls. Then Iruka let them through to the waiting area where they had to wait one more day. From there, Haku knew he could leave. He bid goodbye and told his teammates good luck before leaving the Tower to go back to the village.

Team 7 waited impatiently for the next day to come. They wanted the Third Exam to start already! To their relief it came quickly. The team that made it-including the Konoha Twelve- walked into a large arena-like room where their jonin senseis, the exam proctors, and the Third Hokage were waiting. After they were silenced, the Hokage started to tell them what the Chunin Exams were all about. Basically the Chunin Exams were made to not only let genins advanced to chunin, but also help create ties with other ninjas from different villages. When the Hokage finished his speech, Hayate was the proctor of the next exam. He annouched that since there were still too many of them they had to hold Preliminary matches. Of course, they all protested but could do nothing and obey the rules. Hayate said a computer would select the matches (to which Sauske couldn't help but wonder why they had _computers_ of all things but no cars???). He let the selector go and pulled out the first match: Sasuke vs. a Sound ninja.

Sasuke did not mind fighting first. He just wanted to get this over with. However, he did mind who his opponent was. It was the same ninja who he had to fight in ther series. From what he could remember this guy could suck the chakra out of him like a leech should they make contact. Using this knowledge Sasuke did not use any of his jutsus and instead used his taijutsu. He defeated the man easily by using the _Lion's Barrage_. In the series he learned the basics of the technique from his fight with Lee. Sasuke didn't fight Lee here. To compensate for that he ended up getting the basics from when Lee fought Dosu. He won the match and was about to watch the remaining matches.

He liked watching the matches. They were actually better and more exciting in real life than what he could have watched from the anime. It was only because there were no constant breaks when the fights got really good. Sasuke also silently cheered on his teammates when it was their turn to fight. He was rather sad that Sakura's match ended in a draw. She should have advanced. He wondered why he cared about her losing, but shook it from his head when the next match came on. For Naruto's match, he was rather amazed by it. Instead of going the way it did in the series, the match was completely different. Naruto actually best Kiba without the lame way he did in the series. He, instead, used his clones to beat him. Sasuke wondered if the match was different because Naruto's chakra wasn't messed up. It was probably that.

With the rest of the matches, Sasuke felt himself get both mad and fightened for two fights. He was mad because of the Hyuuga fight. As he watched Neji beat his own cousin, Hinata, close to death, he was glaring at Neji with his Sharingan activated. Hinata, believe it or not, was his friend and Katy's first girl best friend. The friendship between the two girls was important to Katy. he hated Neji at that moment. Hinata was such a sweet girl and she didn't deserve that treatment. He almost felt like joining Naruto to beat Neji senseless, but Kakashi held them back. So he opted for glaring daggers at the Hyuuga. For another match, he was frightened because of Gaara. That was enough explanation itself. Gaara was freaking scary when he used his sand to nearly kill Lee. The look of bloodlust in his eyes was enough to scare him. After the match ended, Sasuke vowed to train his speed as much as he could for when he went against Gaara.

_Wow, a lot has happened,_ he thought as he finished his recap of the week. He never expected that many things could occur in the span of five days. It was certainly the most eventful five days of his life. Well, his most eventful so far. He knew there was more to come in the future. _Great. I'm probably going to have a major headache because of too many things happening._

Sasuke finished his mental recap just as Hayate asked them to draw out a number out of a box he held. Everyone went and drew a number then called out what they drew. Hayata then wrote down the numbers on a peice of paper and showed it to them. Drawn on the piece of paper was a tournament sytle ladder with all of their names on the bottem. He said that the name next to theirs was their oppenet for the Finals in a month. Although Sasuke knew he was fighting, a shiver of fear went down his spine when seeing that he was fighting against Gaara. He glanced over to him to see that he was looking at him too. The only difference were the cold teal eyes that were filled with bloodlust. Sasuke glared at him, though he felt frightened. He was going to have to watch his back against him.

After everyone got to see who they were fighting against, the genin were free to go for the month. Sasuke and Naruto walked towards the door where Kakashi and Sakura were waiting for them. Kakashi smiled at the boys through his mask.

"Good job, you two. I'm proud that you were able to make it this far. You too, Sakura."

"But I didn't win," Sakura said in a disappointed voice.

"You still went through this exam and got this far."

She smiled, despite knowing she lost.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

The team started to walk out of the Tower and to go back to the village tow. That was when Naruto remembered something.

"Hey, hey! Kakashi-sensei! Can you train me for the Finals?" he asked excitedly.

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I can't train you."

"Why not?"

"Because I will be training Sasuke."

"What?!" Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke halted in their tracks in the middle of the semi-crowded street. Two of them wore bewildered expressions, staring at the third person, who scowled. Kakashi stared at his students blinking. It took awhile before one of them found his very loud voice again.

"Why are you training Sasuke? Why not me?"

"I need to help Sasuke train for his match against Gaara. I don't need to fully explain why as you all saw the reason earlier." He grew solemn as he mentioned this. The three shivered, all remembering how Gaara fought in his match. They nearly jumped out of their skin when kakashi spoke in a chipper tone. "I haven't forgotten about your training, thought, Naruto. I found a jonin who can help you."

Naruto instantly perked up. That made Sasuke's scowl go down further. "Really? Will he teach me an awesome jutsu so that I can kick Neji's butt?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps. He's actually better for you than me...in a way."

Naruto didn't really hear that last part. He was cheering up and down yelling he was going to kick Neji's butt first then beat Sasuke. Over with Sasuke, he was still scowling at Kakashi.

Sasuke may have liked Kaakshi, but there was on single thing he hated about him. He hated that the jonin played favorites. Back in Sacramento, he always thought it was unfair of Kakashi to pay special attention to the Uchiha. Naruto and Sakura deserved to be trained by him as well. Just before the series went into the second part, Kakashi practically gave his students away to other people. Sure, it was for the better as the three were each trained by one of the Legendary Sannin, but really. He was their teacher. Even now that he knew he was the Uchiha himself, he still thought it was unfair of Kakashi. Kakashi should have trained Naruto and Sakura a bit more too.

_Wait a second. No he shouldn't!_ A part of him argued. _Naruto is the main hero. He's already learned one good jutsu and is going to learn even more. And all of that is before it goes to the second part! I only get to learn one good jutsu while I gained the Sharingan. Screw Naruto deserving training from Kakashi! I deserve it more than him!_

Sasuke couldn't help but agree with that side to some extent. It was really selfish of him to do so, too. It was true Naruto was about to learn three powerful jtusu while he only learns one. That one powerful jutsu was one he only got to learn because of his match. So he had to ignore his dislike for Kakashi's favoritism if he wanted to learn that technique.

"Sasuke, meet me at the red bridge at sunset," Kakashi informed him. "We'll leave for training then."

He gave a curt nod. Kakashi gave one nod and made a familiar hand seal to disappear in a puff of smoke. Then the three genins headed towards town again.

"I wonder where Sensei will take you to train," Sakura wondered aloud. Sasuke shrugged, though he partially knew. Naruto did the same shrug.

The three entered town and were about to seperate to leave for their own homes for some much needed rest. Sasuke thought about resting for an hour or two to hand out with Katy. He hasn't seen that girl for five days. This was probably the longest they've ever been seperated from each other. Ever since they first became friends they would always be seen with each other, hence the reason why girls thought they were dating. Their mothers found it cute and said they were seperated at birth and were twins. Both he and Katy disliked that but lived with it. Right now he wondered how she was faring.

_Knowing her she's probably waiting to glomp me and never let go,_ Sasuke chuckled to himself. _If I'm not around, she'll have probably done something stupid like getting herself kidnapped or something. She _is_ dumb enough to do either of those things._

"Sasuke!"

At the sound of his name, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto paused in their goodbyes to see who called out the name. Who they saw was Haku. He was running down the crowded street, dodging as many people as he could. He halted in front of them, breathing hard. The three were unsettled by Haku's appearance. His eyes had dark bags under them, wide with worry. His hair was also out of its usual bun on his head.

"Haku? What's wrong?" Naruto asked, senseing something was wrong.

"I-It's Katy-chan," Haku answered shakily. "She's-She's missing!"

That statement left Sasuek shocked. He didn't know how to react. It took him awhile to get his barings together as he uttered, "Wh-What are you talking about? She's at work, isn't she?"

He shook his head rapidly, locks of his hair falling in front of his face.

"No. I checked both of ther jobs after I left the Tower yesterday. Both of her employers said that K-Katy-chan hadn't come to work. I thought she might have stayed home so I went to the house to only find it empty. I was starting to get worried so I checked every place she could be at but she wasn't there. Then I checked the whole village. I couldn't find her anywhere! I've been looking for her all night trying to find her. The only thing I found of her was this."

He opened the palm of his right hand. There was a twinkle of light and Sasuke's eyes grew wide. He snatched the object out of Haku's hand and examined it.

Sasuke held a small silver cross held on a long, thin chain. On the small cross was a ruby heart to represent the symbol of Jesus Christ as Katy was Catholic. He knew this trinket well enough because Katy wore it all the time and never took it off. She recieved this necklace as a birthday present from her older brother before he died a month later. After her brother died, she barely took the necklace off, even when the chain could break easily or how she could slip it off her head easily without undoing the latch. Haku saw this necklace on her so many times to notice that it was apart of her. For Haku to have it and not on Katy meant...

He broke out into a dash down the street, surprising his friends. Sasuke started to call out one name as he ran.

"Katy? Katy!"

It was only her name he would cry and call out to as he ran through the village. Sasuke ran everywhere calling out to her. She had to be in the village somewhere. Maybe Haku didn't really search everywhere? She could be slacking off somewhere, reading or listening to her music. She proabably was napping and that's why she ddin't go to work. But as Sasuke raced through the village, he began tor realize that Haku was right. Ever since coming here Katy hasn't complained about wanting a day of relaxation. She would always be doing something that kept her busy. Also, where could she go in the village? She would eventually get lost if she explored the _entire_ village. Sasuke knew Katy didn't go anywhere that she didn't know unless she had someone come with her. He grited his teeth, clenching his hands tightly as he continued to run.

_Katy...Where the hell are you?_

For the rest of his time, Sasuke searched the entire village for Katy. He searched every street, every forest, and every single nook and cranny for her. He searched and he searched but still had yet to find a single trace of her. As he searched he began to lost hope. What if Katy wasn't in the village anymore? What if she really _was_ kidnapped? He couldn't bear to lost Katy. He made a promise to her. A promise to bring her back home to her dimension. What good was that promise when he couldn't even protect her? What kind of friend was he? He could only blame himself for Katy's disappearance.

As the sunset came upon him, he knew she was no longer in the village. With a heavy heart, Sasuke began to walk to the red bridge to meet Kakashi to train.

Halfway towards his destination, he heard his name called. He lifted up his head to see Haku, Naruto, and Sakura. They ran up to him, each breathing hard.

"Did you find her? Did you find Katy-chan?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shook his head.

"No. Not a single trace of her."

Sakura gave a long sigh.

"Poor Katy-chan. Where could she be?"

"I don't know."

"We have to keep looking for her!" Naruto exclaimed. "We can't give up! She's here somewhere."

"But Sasuke-kun has to go meet Kakashi-sensei now," Sakura mentioned. This stung Sasuke in the chest. "He can't keep looking."

"Then we'll look for him." Haku gave a reassuring smile at Sasuke. "Do not worry, Sasuke. We'll keep searching for Katy-chan while you train."

"yeah! We'll keep looking, teme," Naruto declared.

"Katy-chan is our friend now. We can't give up looking for her. We won't stop looking for her," Sakura confidentally said.

Sasuke stared at his three teammates. They would keep looking for Katy? He felt somewhat reassured. He had no idea that these three would search for his best friend for him. Maybe Katy was right. He had to trust his teammates and have faith in them. He nodded.

"Thanks. Keep looking for her."

"We will!" the three chimed.

Sasuke gave another nod before walking off. He bit his lip, staring at the ground. He hoped that his teammates-no- his _friends_ could find Katy soon. There was a horrible feeling his his gut. Something could happen to her soon if they didn't hurry.

---

The first thing that Katy saw when waking up was darkness. That, and a musty smell that hung in the air.

Katy regained consciousness and sat up holding her head. She winced at the pain in her head.

"Ow...What the hell hit?" She jumped as her voice echoed in the dark space around her. She blinked at the darkness. "Where...am I?"

Katy had no idea where she was. Actually, how did she end up in said place anyway? She looked back on her most recent memories. Okay, so she went to work then started to go home. She took her usual shortcut home when she started freaking out over a cat. Then what happened?

_Oh, yeah. Something bit me that knocked me out. Then someone was near me._ She tensed up, remembering that voice. The very voice that sent cold shivers down her spine. _Oh, no. Do not tell me _he_ brought me somewhere and kidnapped me._

Katy tried to deny that _him_ of all people would have kidnapped her. She thought someone else did like like a gang leader or a rapist/psycho. Anybody would have been better than _him._ She shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking of _who_ kidnapped her. She should be thinking of where she was. That was her first and utmost priority.

_But I have to be able to see where I am first. It's too dark!_

She felt for her hip, sighing with relief when feeling the familiar rough patch that was her pouch. Opening said pouch, she blindly felt inside the bag to get one single item. A smile broke out on her face when feeling a small rectangular item and pulled it out. Katy knew it was a pack of matches that she put in there (thankfully!). She brought one out, felt for the rough strip on it, then dragged the top of the match across it.

Fire instantly lit up on the match, allowing light fill the room. Now that there was light, Katy saw that she was in a rather spacious room. Half of the room was separated by a wall of bars, leaving Katy on one side and a door on the other. She wondered how or why she was in a cell when something caught her attention. Out of the corners of her eyes she noticed something poking out. Turning her match in that direction, she tilted her head in curiosity at what it could be. Her eyes widened considerably, nearly bugging out of her head.

The very thing that Katy was staring at was a skeleton. It wasn't a skeleton as part of his face still had flesh on it, on side of his skull bone white. What scared her the most was not the bug crawling on its body (though it was a good second), but that his chest was cut open to reveal the rotting organs within and a kunai sticking out where his heart was.

At the sight, Katy flinched back and dropped her match. She was left in the darkness once again. Her next reaction a few seconds later?

She screamed.

Katy let out a high pitched scream that sounded like one of the girls in horror movies. She curled up, drawing her knees to her chest as she continued to scream. Soon, her scream finally stopped and she started to cry, sobs leaving her throat loudly.

_Oh, my god! That's sick! It looks like something that clown guy in _Saw_ would do!_ She hysterically thought. The image flashed in her head again, making her cry harder. Although she was frightened by the sigh, she felt sorry for the guy. He didn't deserve that kind of death. _Who would do such a horrible thing? No human being is that cruel do something like that to another._

A small clicking sound behind her made Katy pause her crying and settle for hiccuping. She glanced behind her just as the door opened. Light poured into the room once again. Candles on a nearby wall flickered to life. She tensed up as two scarily familiar people entered the room. One was a girl with red hair and a sort of bandanna on her head. That other was a boy with pale purple hair that barely reached his shoulders yet his bangs hung in front of his face. Both wore an tunic-like outfit, but the boy wore pants under his. There was a rope-like belt that tied around their waists. Katy shrunk back at the sight of them.

The girl eyes Katy's weak and fragile state and sneered.

"I can't believe he's using such a pathetic girl for _that._ She isn't even worth the effort.

"Although she does have a set of lungs," the boy chuckled. He walked over to the cell bars to examine her more closely. Katy shivered involuntarily under the stare. He grinned at her, but spoke to the girl. "Orochimaru-sama must think this little girl's something if he's using her for that."

_Orochimaru!?_ Katy visibly tensed, her whole form ridged. So her suspicions were correct. Orochimaru did capture her after all. She must be in some hideout of his that was in the Fire country. He couldn't be too far away if he wanted to be successful in his evil schemes. But what she wanted to know was why did he kidnap her of all people?

_I have a bad feeling all of a sudden in my gut telling me I'm screwed right now._

"Whatever, I still say she's going to be useless. She could be dead by the end of it for all we know," the girl snorted in annoyance. "Just get her so Kabuto and Orochimaru-sama can do whatever the fuck they want with her."

"You shouldn't use such unlady-like language, Tayuya," a voice-male, Katy identified- said from outside.

The girl, Tayuya, scowled.

"Shut the hell up, you fatass. You can't tell me what to do!"

"Jirobo's got a point. People might not think you're a girl with that kind of tongue," the boy snickered.

"Fuck you, Sakon."

The boy, Sakon, rolled his eyes then pulled out an old fashioned key. He put the key into the lock on the cell door and it opened with a click. He opened the cell door and stepped inside. Katy saw that he was striding towards her. She couldn't help but cower back as Sakon crouched in front of her. A smirk splayed on his lips.

"So brat. I'm only going to ask you this once so you better obey it," he said in a calm yet scary tone. SHe knew that it was a threat directed at her. "Follow me quietly or I'll have to do something drastic."

"W-Why should I listen to you? For all I know, you guys are bad," Katy said. She shocked herself by speaking up. How did she get the sudden courage to speak? It felt like she shouldn't be speaking at all. "I don't even know if I should listen to you if you were the ones to kidnap me!"

"Hmph. So she can speak." Tayuya scowled at her. "Just knock her out and get her."

"I would, but I won't." Sakon stood to his feet. Katy suddenly felt so so small with his full height towering over her. She gasped in surprise when he suddenly grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted her a few feet off the ground. He smirked cruelly. "We should just beat her half-conscious instead!"

"Let me go!" Katy struggled against him, swinging her legs to kick him in some body part. She gripped at the offending hand that held her up. Her long nails dug into the naked sikn of his hand. They were so sharp and she held them there to it could possibly draw blood. She had to get away. They were actually serious about beating her half-conscious. "Ugh! Put me down, you stupid snake lackey! You can tell your 'master' that I'd rather give my eyes to a blind man before he can use me for whatever he plans to do!"

"Oh, you would, huh?" Sakon chuckled. He swung his arm and threw Katy at the wall. She hit the wall, pain erupted in her back before she fell to the ground. A whimper left her lips at the dull pain. This pain reminded her of when she sprained her wrists or other parts of her body. Only, it was about to get much worse. He smirked at her pain. "Then lets make that happen."

_Damnit! I gotta get out of here!_

Katy heard Sakon stepping towards her. She glanced up to see him reaching a hand over to grab her again. She gasped, afraid he was going to throw her again. She did the one thing she never thought about doing.

She bit him.

Katy practically chomped down on Sakon's hand so hard that she tasted blood. When tasting the blood, she automatically let go as Sakon yelled out in anger and pain. He held his hand, see that it was bleeding on all four fingers. He growled at Katy, who was spitting out his blood on the floor.

"You stupid bitch! I'm going to kill you!"

Katy raised her head in just enough time to see him raise his hand to smack her. Gasping, she unexpectedly moved her head before the attack made contact. She scrambled to her feet before Sakon glared at her with bloodlust. He was ready to kill her. He charged at her, making her freeze from fear. She shut her eyes and let her body move on its own. Until a loud, painful scream, she barely registered what happened. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see Sakon on all fours, holding his place downstairs. His face was contorted in pain. If this was a different situation, she would have busted out laughing. Someone did, though.

"Nice, Sakon. You got your ass handed to you by a little girl!" Tayuya laughed. She held her stomach as she doubled over.

Katy noticed that both ninjas were currently distracted and decided it was time to escape. She calmly-or as calmly as she could get-walked out of the cell, passing the still laughing Tayuya. Once past her and near the door, she bolted out of there. She ran out the door ato find that she was in a dark empty hallway. Well, almost empty. When she ran out, she could have sworn she heard two "Wha-" before dashing down the hall and turning a corner. She didn't notice as she kept running, taking as many turns as she could to escape the two from before.

This was a bad thing as she later found out.

"Where the hell is the exit?!" Katy muttered, halting in yet another dark hallway that this location was so fond of. She bit her thumbnail, turning her head left and right to both ends of the hallway. Where should she go? She couldn't just run in any old direction like she was doing before. For all she knew she could have been running around in circles! There was no time for this. She had to get out of here. A sigh of frustration left her. "Goddamnit. I'll just take the left."

She walked to her left in finalization. She ran so much that she was tired now and opted for walking. Her footfalls were currently the only thing that sounded in the hall so she was not worried that someone would pop out of nowhere. Though, that could have been a bad thing. She barely thought of anything but escape until she turned the corner and knocked into something to fall on the ground.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going, ba-"

"So this is where you went."

Katy glanced up before she suddenly found herself lying on her back. Someone was pinning her wrists to the sides of her, a heavy weight straddling her hips. She took one look at the person and cursed.

_Dangit! Of all the people to find me, it had to be Pedo-snake's right hand man._

"Shouldn't you be in your cage, little bird?" the person, Kabuto, siad to her with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, birds need to be set free." Katy scowled as she noticed their position. Both of his legs were on both sides of her hips and his face (Which she unconsiously noted was kind of cute in a Harry Potterish way) was close to hers. "You know if people walked in here, they would get the idea that you were molesting me or something."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't care. I don't go for someone I'm experimenting on."

"Experimenting?" she echoed. Her eyes widened with realization. She blushed and squirmed under his hold. "Wow, You _are_ molesting me! An innocent twelve year old girl! What? You couldn't get some with a girl near your age?"

Kabuto chuckled. "Not that kind of experimenting."

"Then what-" Katy jumped when something shocked her wrists. Her hand suddenly went numb as that and everything started to go numbs from her wrists to every body part below. She tense up and shivered, trying to move her legs to knee this guy where it hurt. Her body wouldn't respond, which scared her. Once seeing Kabuto's smirk, she understood. "What did you do!?"

"I was able to numb every nerve in your body-your moving ones-with my chakra. It only took a little amount to immobilize you. We don't want you running off again."

Katy opened her mouth to protest when Kabuto got off of her and picked up her limp body fire-man style. She was alarmed and struggled to make her arms and legs move. No use. Only her head could move. She couldn't feel anything else. He began to walk down the halls with her at his hip.

"Wh-Where are you taking me?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"You'll see." Kabuto chuckled again, sensing the fear that he knew the girl harbored.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?"

Katy got no answer. He stayed silent as they continued down the hall.

She shivered, closing her eyes. She was practically scared out of her wits by now. She had no idea why she was kidnapped or why she was here. Just what did Orochimaru want from her? Was he gong to do something to her? Sakon, Tayuya, and Kabuto all mentioned something about an 'experiment' Orochimaru was conducting. It had to be important since all of them were mentioning it by 'that'. But what did it have to do with her?

Kabuto stopped in front of a metal door. Katy lifted up her head as she entered the room for her eyes to widen in pure fear. They entered a large room that contained all these strange metal containers that held a colored liquid on both sides of the room. A single light in a lamp in the room hung and shined over a metal table. By the metal table was another table that had a tray of medical tools on top of its shiny and sterile surface. The hairs on the back of Katy's neck rose up. Kabuto walked over to the metal table and set Katy face down there, her arms secured to her sides.

_Oh, my gosh! They're experimenting on _me! Katy scream in her head. She was freaking out by this point. Great! Orochimaru was going to experiment on her, doing God knows what! She hated doctors and hospitals. Now she just hated scientists and labs now too! If she ever did science again, she would probably freak out like she was now. She squeaked in surprise when something cold and sharp cut through the back of her shirt and reveals the strap of her bra.

"Dude! What are you _doing!?_ Don't remove my bra, you perv!" Katy turned a deep red as Kabuto removed the articles of her shirt and tried to unstrap her bra. She shivered at his cold hands, goosebumps forming all over her arms because of the cold table and hands. "God, I never expected to let a boy see me topless until I turned eighteen."

"Like I would want to see your breasts," Kabuto retorted. He unhooked her bra off and threw it to the side. Katy gasped, feeling her naked chest touch the _very_ cold table. "Besides," he studied her chest from the side. He frowned. "You're too underdeveloped for me."

"What!? Excuse me for being a preteen!" Katy scoffed. How dare he say that? She only recently began growing into her womanly body! It wasn't her fault for being too 'underdeveloped' for his tastes. Really, she was still a kid! And he was like a teenager already. Practically an adult! She stopped her mental rant as something poked her in the arm and pushed something into her veins. Katy cried out at the needle, and opened her mouth to say something when her head dropped onto the table, too heavy to ife anymore. She couldn't even open her mouth.

"I just shot something into your system to relieve any pain you're going to feel during the procedure," he explained, seeing she was about to ask. "We don't want your body to go into shock and start dying, now would we?"

_Dying!? What are they going to do to me that might _kill_ me!?_ Katy shut her eyes and shivered from both fear and something that Kabuto was putting on her bare back. It felt wet and it was going in strokes. She was so scared right now. She was about to be experimented on and she didn't know why. Hospitals had scared her before, but now she was afraid of Orochimaru. Tears nearly fell through her closed eyes. _Sasuke...please help me! I'm scared...I want to go home! I want to go home to Mom and be safe again! I want to go home!_

"Is she ready?" A chilling voice emerged in the room. Katy felt cold to the bone at the voice. She heard footsteps getting closer and closer to her, matching the beat of her heart.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru. We are ready to begin the procedure," Kabuto answered.

"Excellent." The footsteps arrived near her and stopped. There was the sound of things being picked up and set down on a surface.

"Are those...?" Kabuto let his words hang in the air, leaving Katy wanting to know what he was about to say.

Orochimaru chuckled loud enough for her to hear.

"Yes. Although, it has been years since I last did this experiment," he admitted. "But if all goes well, I will get what I want and perhaps more."

Orochimaru picked up something from the metal tray near her. Katy couldn't take the mystery behind all this talk and wanted to see what they were talking about. She peeked open her left eye slightly to not be seen. Her head was on its side so she could see the metal tray holding the metal instruments. Her eye was able to see the tray and its instruments. There was also a small glass vial that was full of a crimson liquid. Her heart skipped a beat when seeing a small symbol on the vial: a red and white ping-pong paddle.

Before Katy could react to the symbol, her eye snapped shut when a long needle pierced the skin of her back. She bit her lip in pain at the intrusion. She almost sighed in relief when the needle was removed, but then felt something foreign enter her body. It felt warm and entered her body fluidly. She started to twitch as the foreign thing made her blood burn like a hot fire. The fire bubble in her veins and a scream left her. It hurt! Her very being began to burn, making her scream more. She has never felt a pain like this before. Why couldn't it end?

Katy felt her mind begin to edge with darkness through the fire. The darkness took over as the fire continued to burn, never bringing its light. Only the heat that burned her very blood remained in the end.


	25. Begin: Final exams

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 25

A month passed by slowly for Sasuke as he trained with Kakashi. Kakashi was relentless on Sasuke as they trained. He made him train day in and day out for the technique that Kakashi was teaching him.

The Chidori.

The only original technqiue that Kakashi has ever developed himself. It was also said that this technique helped Kakashi cut a bolt of lightning in half. That was probably a story, but the technique was still impressive. And in the future, thie technique would Sasuke's most used jutsu. (A/N: It's true. In Shippuden, he uses this jutsu, a part from his fire jutsus, _alot.)_

Sasuke was able to get the technqiue during the month. Although, he was heavily distracted. He was worried about Katy. He kept wondering where she had disappeared to. Where could she have gone? She couldn't have gone up and disappear, could she? No, she couldn't. She must have been kidnapped. But by who? He was really worried about her but never showed it while training. Right now, as he and Kakashi headed towards the stadium where the finals were being held, he worried about Katy as he remembered the first time he ever met.

_A seven year old Sasuke Hailton sat under the playgroun structure. It was recess time and he was watching kids play games and ran above him where he was sitting. He watched each kid play with sad eyes._

Why did Mom have to dump me here? I wanna be with her instead,_ Sasuke sighed. Today was the first day of school for him and he was in the second grade, whatever that was. Mari, the woman who found him in that alley, said that grades are how a smart person is at school. He knew what school was, but for some reason had no idea what grades wer. Mari told him that all kids were required to go to school so she signed him up after she adopted him. _It's like she doesn't want me around.

_This thought saddened Sasuke. He wanted Mari around in his life. He felt lonely without her. She was the person to find him when he had no idea where he was or where he was from. When he was taken to a hospital and asked about himself, all he knew was his name and that was it. He couldn't remember anything more. Later on when Mari found this out, she thought that if he couldn't remember anything, it was her responsibility to try and regain his memory. That was when she adopted him as her own son until they could find his family. He wanted to find his family, but until then Marii was his family. Right now as Sasuke thought of how she didn't want him, it drove him to tears. He started to cry since no around to see it._

_"Hey, are you okay?" a voice said from above._

_Sasuke sniffled and opened his eyes to jump back in surprise when seeing a face in front of his. He backed up and wiped his eyes as he examined the person. It turned out to be a little girl, about his age, with big brown eyes. She was looking at him upside down from her sitting position above him so her long black hair hung down on her head. Her brown eyes were staring into his strange onyx colored ones, blinking. The two stared at each other in silence, only the sound of kids playing in the background. He wondered who this girl was. Finally, the girl said something._

_"Are you new? I've never seen you before."_

_He slowly nodded, still confused by her._

_The girl lifted herself back up and climbed down from the platform above Sasuke. She landed down and plopped on the wood chipped covered ground in front of him. The girl smiled at him to reveal a chipped front tooth._

_"My name's Katy Rivera! It's really Kaitlyn Rivera, but Katy's better, right? Who are you? I know most of the people here and I don't know you. I would've heard about you if the girls 'round here were talkin' about a new cute boy."_

_Sasuke was silent, staring at the girl named Katy. His first initial thought of her was, _She's really weird._ Here was a girl who just came out of nowhere and just started talking to him. And she called him cute. He didn't like to be called cute by girls. Mari didn't count because he sort of liked it when she called him cute. So girls calling him cute was _not_ okay. He gave a small glare at the gril and bluntly stated, "You're not annoying. You talk too much."_

_The smile Katy had on faltered. She ended up frowning._

_"I guess you aren't cute. Boys wh say stuff like that aren't cute anymore to me," she said. Katy eyed him up and down, making Sasuke glare at her more. Stopping and looking down into his eyes, she grinned. "You could be cute like that 'cause you remind me of one of my favorite series character, Sasuke Uchiha!"_

_"Sa...uke? But..." Sasuke blinked in confusion. He knew his first name was that, but the last name was not his. Though, it did sound familiar... "Sasuke's my name, but my last name is Hailton."_

_"Hailton?" Katy gasped in surprise. "Oh! So you're that boy Auntie Mari told my mommy about! She said Auntie Mari took in a boy my age. I didn't know it was you, though."_

_He raised an eyebrow._

_"You know my mom?"_

_She nodded._

_"Course I do! She's a really nice lady who lives on my street. Sometimes she babysits me and my kuya when my mommy has to go to work. I really like her. So she's your mommy now?"_

_"Hn." Sasuke didn't want to tell her anything more. She was starting to get on his nerves. He didn't liek to talk very much so he didn't want to tell a random girl about his life._

_Katy frowned at the grunt and shrugged. "I'll just take that as a yes." She smoothed out the edges of her white and red playdress to cover her knees. "So if you're with Mari now, what happend to your family? Where are they?"_

_"It's none of your business!" he snapped angerly at her. Sasuke didn't lke how this stupid annoying girl was just asking him personal questions. His business was his business. "Stop asking me, ok? God, you're so annoying! Just leave me alone and go bother someone else!"_

_Katy was frozen for a second from his harsh statement. Then she glared at him, standing to her feet._

_"You're so rude! I take back what I said about you being cute! All I wanted to do was talk to you since you were lonely and crying. If you're just going to be mean you'll never have friends!"_

_With that said, she walked out from underneath the play structure and back on the playground. Sasuke glared at her back. That girl was really annoying. He hoped he never saw her again. He never, ever wanted her for a friend._

That's what he thought at the moment. Being seven years old, he thought his opinion of Katy would never change. To him, she would forever be the weird, hyper, and talkative girl. But his opinion did change.

Sasuke's opinion of Katy altered a little a few months after their first meeting. It was one day after school. He was walking home by himself since Mari trusted him to remember where they lived. He was almost home and just had to go through a park. He had just came near the park when he saw Katy yet again. She was in the large field of grass with three boys their age standing around her. Saske recognized Katy only because she was wearing her white and red playdress again. He didn't know why they were there, then figured they were all friends. He almost ignored it when he heard Katy yell, "Give it back! Give my manga back right now!"

Sasuke halted in his steps. He stared at the group to see the boys laughing while tossing a small book to each other. Katy was trapped in the center and followed the book as it was tossed. It was kind of like they were playing monkey in the middle. But Katy was not enjoying the game. Sasuke watched as the boys continued to throw the book around like a ball and Katy trying to retrieve it.

A few minutes passed by and the game continued. Sasuke guessed the boys were getting tired of the game and one of them threw the booke farther than usual. The book flew through the air and ended up landing on the sidewalk behind Sasuke. Conviently, there was a large puddle of water from when it rained the day before. The book landed in the puddle, its pages open to soak up the water. Katy stood rooted to her spot and the boys laughed.

"Good riddance. That book was stupid anyway," they all said. "It's why Katy doesn't have any friends if she kept reading them."

They ran away from the park, their laugher floating in the air to disappear as they left.

Once the boys were gone and all was silent, Katy started crying. She hiccupped loudly and hid her eyes. She kept her eyes closed as she suddenly turned around and ran away from the park as well.

Sasuke had no idea what happened and wondered what all of that was about. He also noted Katy left behind her book. He turned around to stare at the book lying in the puddle. He decided not to leave it there and picked it up. Of course it was soaking wet, but he didn't care. He was staring at the title. The book was weird since the cover was on the right side. It was even weirder that he knew which side to turn to.

_Naruto._

That was the name of the book. The name triggered some thought in his head. It sounded familiar but he didn't know. He opened the book to see it was like a comic book. He couldn't read it because the pages were running ink already. Sasuke thought Katy wouldn't come for it since it was ruined and all, so he took it home with him.

Later that day as he was talking to his mother during dinner, Sasuke showed his mother the book.

"Oh! That looks like Katy's book," Mari said when she saw the book. "Well, it looks like one of them. A little girl and her brother-they're our neighbors-read these kinds of books. They're mostly like comic books, but in a Japanese style. I think they're called 'manga.'

And that was Sasuke's first taste of anime and manga. He became interested in them after that and started reading them. It was more of a closet thing, for he never told anyone. He didn't want to be ridiculed for it like Katy was. All he wanted at the time was to fit in. but he couldn't seem to. He was too different from the other children. Sometimes, it felt as if Sasuke didn't belong with them. He was too observant for his age and had a strange behavior of watching others play instead of playing himself. He could never fit in. that was why he had no friends until Katy.

Now that he mentioned it, Sasuke noticed that his personality from when he was seven changed drastically when Katy became his friend. When he was seven he used to glare at anything or everyone who tried to come near him. After befriending Katy, he only opted for glaring at his fangirls.

_Who knew that she affected my personality so much,_ Sasuke thought with a silent chuckle. His mood sobered as he remembered all those time together. He had no idea how much he missed and worried about Katy until she was gone. He hoped she was all right where ever she was. _God damnit, Katy…Where the hell are you?!_

"Sasuke."

"Hn?" Sasuked stopped on a tree branch right behind Kakashi. His teacher looked at him seriously, yet said in a chipper tone, "We're here."

Just outside the walls of Konoha's arena where the Final Exams were being held, Sasuke was glaring at Kakashi. His hands formed a quickl symbol. Their bodies began to disappear in a swirl of leaves only to reappear inside the arena with more leaves. Sasuke was meantally irritated with Kakakashi despite his cool expression.

_Why does Kakashi have to be so flashy?_ He grumbled. Kakashi told them they were going to use the Shunshin no Jutsu to enter the stadium. Sauske did not understand this. Why couldn't they just walk through instead, he asked. Kakashi said that it was faster and better to just appear in the arena. He still did not get it, but let the jonin have his way.

The moment they appeared in the arena, the first thing Sasuke saw was the crowd. The size was astounding because not only were there a lot of people, but the whole place was packed. It was so full that some people were standing to watch the matches. Sasuke couldn't believe the size of the crowd. This many people came to watch the Chunin Exams? Did this happen every exam? Or was it just this time? When Kakashi and Sasuke appeared, some of the crowd cheered in excitement.

"Sasuke!" a voice shouted from above.

Sasuke glanced up at the sound of his name. He saw it was Naruto. He jumped down from the balcony where the competitors were waiting for their turn to fight or to watch the matches. Naruto landed nimbly on the ground and ran over to them. Then he halted and glared at Kakashi.

"You're late! Where have you been?!"

"Sorry. But we had to get some more training in and we lost track of time," Kakashi apologized while rubbing the back of his head. "But we're here now!"

"And not a second too late," said a man wearing the standard jonin gear. The man had short brown hair with his hitai-ate tied around his head. In his mouth was a senbon needle and he held a pocketwatch in his hand. The jonin pocketed the watch and nodded at Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha, right?"

He nodded.

"Geez, teme. I never thought you could be late," Naruto said with a grin. "I think Kakashi-sensei's rubbing off on you."

"Shut up, dobe. That's more your style than mine," Sasuke snapped back, a smirk on his lips.

"Hey! Take that back!"

"Hn." Sasuke felt his smirk grow wider, leaving Naruto fuming. It was fun to piss off Naruto. To him, anyway. He knew just how to tick him off because he was a lot like Katy. His smirk faded at the name he was like that now whenever her name came up. "Naruto," he uttered in a low tone, "did you find her?"

Naruto was stunned for a quick second. It might have been because Sasuke had spoken quietly or that he sounded so worried (at least to him). Sasuke did not even seem to notice the worry in his voice, nor did he care. Either way, Naruto was stunned. Then he quickly recovered and shook his head.

"Sorry, but we couldn't find her," he said. "I couldn't look very much because I was training. Sakura-chan and Haku tried to find her all month, but even they couldn't find her."

The hope of finding Katy safe dropped from his heart to the pit of his stomach like a ton of lead. He was hoping with all his heart that his teammates could find her. But now, he felt immensely disappointed and worried. Katy was still out there somewhere. Sasuke was starting to worry to the point wher he momentarily forget where he was. Until he heard the proctor.

"Alright, it's time for the match to start," he said. "Could only those who are not in his match get off the field?"

Naruto and Kakashi wished him luck before heading back into the stands. Just as they did, Gaara entered the field.

Gaara walked calmly over to where Sasuke and the proctor were standing in the middle of the field. He stopped a few steps away from Sasuke. When turning to him Sasuke could see the calm exterior that he had on, but his eyes told a different story. Those freezing teal green eyes held a hunger for something: blood. His blood to be exact. Gaara had been out for his blood for quite some time now. Ever since he found Kakashi and him training.

About a week ago when Sasuke was still trying to master the Chidori, Gaara suddenly appeared. He was hiding behind a rock face and Kakashi was able to sense him by the amount of bloodlust he had. Of course, Sasuke wasn't shocked at all. He knew Gaara would come. But he was when Gaara said something that shook him to his very core.

"You are different from what I expected, Sasuke Uchiha," said Gaara, staring straight at him. "You are trying to gain power for the wrong reason, yet…You are not unlike me. We are very much alike, although you may not realize it."

Sasuke was stunned by his words. What did Gaara mean when he said they were alike? They were not similar at all! And what did he mean he was gaining power for the wrong reason? He was gaining power to protect his friends! Gaara had to be wrong. He _was_ wrong. That was what Sasuke believed.

"This match is between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Desert," the proctor, Genma, declared. "The match keeps going until one competitor falls or if I say so. Understood?" Sasuke and Gaara gave a curt nod. "Good. Begin!"

Genman jumped out of the way before he got caught in a crossfire of attacks.

Sasuke slipped into a taijutsu stance that was very similar to Rock Lee's. He had done a lot of training on his taijutsu (which he needed. Before it used to be average. Now he was good at it) and his speed. He liked the fact that his speed was better than before. It was great to be light and fast. It felt like he was free. He watched with intrigue as sand floated out of the gourd on Gaara's back and settled around him. That was the same sand that almost killed Lee.

_I'm going to have to be careful. If that sand get me I'm done for!_

Gaara flinched and held his head as if it hurt. "Don't be so angry, Mother," he muttered to himself. This made Sasuke's eyes widen ever so slightly.

_Oh, shoo! He's talking to Shukaku!_ Sasuke mentally cursed. He knew about the slight 'problem' Gaara had within him. It was the same 'problem' that Naruto had as well. Because of these 'problems,' it resulted in both boys being isolated from the others. The only difference was that Gaara's 'problem' made him a psychotic killer out for blood. That made him a major problem. He cursed at Gaara's father and his village for putting him through that kind of life. _Damn that Kazekage! Gaara's one of my favorite characters! His life sucked because of those damn power hungry leaders! If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be fighting a soon-to-bee raging psychopath!_

"I know I've fed you some nasty blood earlier. I'm sorry, but…" Gaara lifted his eyes to Sasuke. The look of hunger and bloodlust he sent made a chold chill go down his spine. "I'll soon give you a delicious one." He groaned in pain and then suddelnly straightened up, his expression calm. It was as if nothing happened. He glared. "Come," he ordered.

Sasuke smirked. He decided to take him up on that offer. As fast as lightning, he withdrew kunai out of his holster and threw them at Gaara. The weapons barely made its mark as sand had formed in front of him and was stopped by a sand clone. Sasuke then rushed at him. The sand lunged at him, but Sasuke sidestepped and threw more kunai. The sand clone did the same, throwing the kunai from before. The knived met in a clash and deflected each other. The weapons fell to the ground. Before the weapons fell, Sasuke rushed at the clone with a fist clenched. He punched the sain in the chest. Although his punch landed, it made no dent in the clone. Instead it allowed for sand to crawl onto his fist. To free his hand he lifted his leg and kicked the clone in the head. The sand crumbled upon impact. His hand free, he rushed at Gaara again. Sand sprang up to act as a shield against him.

This made Sasuke smirk in amusement. He vanished from Gaara's sight and appeared behind him. He let his fist fly and punched Gaara in the face. The punch was so hard that it not oly cracked Gaara's supposed sand armor, it sent him flying a few feet away. Gaara recovered, sand falling from his face.

"Tch. Some armor," Sasuke taunted. He slipped back into his taijutsu stance. He flicked his hand to taunt him into coming. "Come on."

Gaara sat there, unmoving.

Sasuke knew he was not going to move at all so he made the move. He ran at Gaara. He was just a blur as he launched himself at Gaara. The sand rose up to defend, but he changed his course quickly. He ran right around the sand spotted an opening. He went through that opening to kick Gaara in the face. Gaara skidded a couple feet back from the force of it. He stood there, too stunned on what just happened.

"Is that the best you can doo?" Sasuke asked as if bored. On the inside, however, he was cheering. He was taking on the second scariest enemy in the Chunin Exams and was kicking his butt. He knew he was doing some damage by all of the cracks in Gaara's sand armor. But he knew it wasn't over. Not until all of that armor was off him.

Sasuke stuck to that decision and vanished from Gaara's sigh. He hid away from his sight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It came when Gaara's sand rose up in the air, expecting Sasuke to come. Sasuke knew it was time. He quickly ran and slid right under the sand to get to Gaara. He saw his shocked expression as he kicked Gaara in the face. Then he grabbed the front of his shirt to knee him in the stomach. Sasuke gave one last punch at Gaara before backstepping away from him. He could have continued, but he was getting tired. The way his lungs heaved for air was evidence enough.

Truth was that it wasn't easy for Sasuke to get up to Lee's speed. He didn't have Lee's incredible stamina, so he had to use a bit of his chakra to make up for that. Still, it made him feel exhausted as he used a lot of his stamina already.

Gaara rose up to his feet, a cold look on his features. He had his hands together in a seal and the sand around him rose up. Sasuke knew what he was doing as the sand eneveloped all of him and only his eye was seen through the shrinking hole. Sasuke sprang into action and charged at the ball. He gave a shout as he used his fist to punch into the hole. However, the sand in the front of the ball spiked up at him nearly missing his face by a few inches. His fist didn't even make it either and only hit the hard sand wall. He hissed in pain as his knuckles and some parts of his body stung. Retreating back, he began to inspect the damage. His knuckles on his right hand were red with blood and the spikes nicked him in a few places right near his knees.

_God damn it! Stupid bastard made the ball's shell harder and more dense. And the only way to get through is using the Chidori._ Out of the corners of his eyes, Sasuke saw some of the sand form an eyeball. That was one of Gaara's jutsus, he recognized. If that was there, it was bad news. Sasuke had no idea what Gaara was doing now. He reflected back on the manga for support. _Let's see…He makes that dome and the Uchiha was stupid enough to hit it anyway, which I copie. He makes the dome so that he…could…Oh, fuck._

Dread filled Sasuke as he finally realized what Gaara was doing. He was going to bring Shukaku out, that was for sure. In the manga, it didn't happen and the transformation was interrupted when the Uchiha used a Chidori. That's what he should probably do now.

Sasuke jumped back and kept going until he hit the arena walls. Then he juped onto the wall and stuck on the side. He was in a low crouch as he made three handseals he knew so well. Just from those seals, he held out his right arm in front of him and focused all of his chakra into his hand. His chakra flowed to his hand and a large chirping sound emitted his ears. His hand also sparked a light blue. Knowing the jutsu was working, he ran down the wall to the ground. Once on the ground, he charged toward the sand all with his arm behind him like a weapon.

Near the ball now, the sand spiked up again and shot at him. Sasuke dodged the attacks and slammed his hand into the ball yelling, "CHIDORI!"

His hand smashed through the layers of the sand and straight into something. It made contact with something hard and warm. Just as the palm of his hand, Sasuke felt something wet and warm under the hard object. That wet thing trinkled and dripped down his hand. He knew what the wetness was.

"It's my blood!" A shriek sounded within the sand dome. Sasuke inwardly flinched at the voice. So this was what Gaara sounded like at this part. He's never watched this far in the anime and always wondered what he sounded like. And now he knew.

Something slithered around Sasuke's arm. He felt cold at the feeling and tried to wretch his hand out of the ball. He couldn't as it was stuck. Sasuke began to panic as he knew what would happen to his hand if he didn't get it out. He placed his free hand on the hard, sandy dome and pushed against it to get his arm back. Then something gripped at his arm, sparking fear into him.

"Let the hell go!" Sasuke sent chakra straight to his arm again. The tingling of chakra went straight to his hand to make electricity sound again. A scream was heard. On that sounded in pain. Sasuke ignored the scream and tried to get his arm out. He felt his arm finally start to unbudge and used all of strength to get out. Healfway out of the hole, he tensed up as he saw something latch onto his arm. It was tan and had purple lines that looked like veins running all over it. He quickly wretched his arm out its hold and leapt back. He stared as the thing retreated back to its hold. Sasuke held his arm which startd to sting. He knew what that thing was.

"Oh, shit…"

Since his Sharingan was activated, Sasuke peered into the dome through the hole like a voyeur watching someone. Unintentionally, his heart stopped as well as his breathing. He could clearly see something slithering around in there. His body froze when a yellow eye met his own. That singl yellow eye was so sinister and craved for blood. It quickly disappeared, leaving him shaken.

_Okay. Second time in my life I've ever been frightened for my life._ Sasuke's breathing returned. His body was stuck on spot as he remembered that eyes. _Why is it that I'm attracting death lately?_

Suddenly, the ball started to crack from the hole and started to dissolve. Sasuke watched as the sand fell and Gaara emerged from the sand. He was standing, a hand covered with blood from where he held the wound Sasuke gave him. His teal eyes were wide with shock and he was panting. Sasuke noted his eyes were back to normal. That relieved him.

_Good. Those eyes shouldn't change to that demon's at all. They freaked me out._

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts when hearing a small explosion behind him. Turning around, he saw that smoke rose from the place where the Kages were supposed to be watching from. He jumped up to his feet, realizing what was happening. Something leapt out of the smoke to reveal it was the Kazekage holding the Hokage hostage with a knife poised at his throat. They landed on the top roof. The ANBU rushed over when seeing the village leader in danger. They tried to lunge at the Kazekage, but a far wall barrier suddenly sprang up. One of the ANBU hit the wall and flames erupted on him, killing him. The Hokage was now defenseless and on his own.

_Oh, shit._

Sasuke knew exactly what was happening. The attack on Konoha has finally arrived. He couldn't believe it, even when he knew it was happening. It all felt too real to him. He may have read this part in the manga, but it still hasn't prepared him for this when it was actually happening before his very eyes. He didn't want this to happen because of the death that would devastate the village in many ways. Sasuke desperately wanted to prevent that death, but could not. This death had to happen or else the future could change.

"Gaara, please forget him! Think of the plan!"

Sasuke snapped back to earth and turned over to where Gaara was. Kankuro and Temari were beside him. By what he could hear, the two were trying to convince Gaara to abandon his desire to kill Sasuke to get the plan over with. A Suna jonin appeared in front of them, telling them to get moving. Genma appeared in front of him, facing the Suna ninjas.

"What's going on?" Sasuke demanded, although he clearly knew what was happening.

"It appears that Suna and Oto have joined up to attack the village."

"No way…"

The Suna jonin, who Sasuke knew was Gaara's teacher, ordered them to go. Temari and Kankuro obeyed. Kankuro put Gaara's arm around his shoulder and the two older siblings took their younger sibling and ran away.

"Is the host of this party Orochimaru?" Genma demanded from the Suna ninja.

The Suna ninja smirked. "Who knows? Let's get started and join the fun."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sasuke grumbled under his breath. He knew this was happening because of Orochimaru. In the first part of the series he was the main villain. Why shouldn't he do evil things like destroying their village? It was in his villainous nature to do so.

"Sorry, Uchiha-san, but the exams are over. You go and pursue Gaara and the others," Genma ordered him. Sasuke blinked in surprise. "You're already a fine shinobi so you should help out."

"You don't need to tell me twice." Sasuke nodded and dashed out to run and follow Temari and Kankuro. He wanted to protect his home. If it meant killing his favorite character, he would for the village. He ran up the wall of the arena, but paused. He stared over to where the Hokage was inside the barrier. He felt bad that he was leaving the Hokage to his death. After everything he's done for him and Katy, he didn't deserve that death. Too bad it had to happen.

Sasuke heavily sighed. He turned his back on the arena and proceeded to follow the Suna siblings.

---

And done! Whew, got that fight out of the way. I decided not to change the fight but the second one in the forest will be kinda different. You'll see why later.

Oh, and I have a question for you readers. You see, I got a few reviews that says that I'm either keeping Sasuke too in canon or too OOC. That's kind of confusing me. Which one is the Sasuke in my story more like? Because truth is, I'm not sure either. I just write what the one in my head says. The Sasuke in my head is really mean to me too. Like I was doing this little study trick for myself to study for my world history Finals where I was having Sasuke act as my tutor and helping me review for my final (yeah, I'm a dork for doing this). The Sasuke in the reviewing was really mean to me and I didn't mean to make him that way. I even reread it after my Finals since I saved the document the reviewing was in and still have it and I still don't know how that Sasuke was mean. Weird.

Another thing before I go, I have something to tell you guys. I've finally written out all of the chapters for this story out in my notebook. Whoo! Now every week I just have to type up the chapters and I'll be done in about.. 2 months or so. Whoo!

Okay, that's pretty much it.

Please Review!

-Twilit Angel


	26. Reappearances

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 26

Sasuke kept following the Suna siblings as they left the arena and entered the forests within Konoha. He jumped from branch to branch, trying to lessen the gap between them. After a while, he finally caught up with them, their figures coming into his sight. He hurried his pace, taking a slight detour which allowed him to leap in front of them, landing nimbly on a branch. He smirked at their shocked faces of the two elder ninjas.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Tch. Sasuke Uchiha," Temari muttered. She turned to her brother. "Kankuro, take Gaara and get out of here. I'll distract him."

"Oh, no you won't!" Sasuke extracted a few kunai and threw them at Kankuro. The kunoichi retaliated by using her own kunai to deflect the attack. Sasuke decided to jump at them instead, taking another kunai out. He slashed at them when Temari jumped in front of Kankuro. His kunai clashed with hers. The Uchiha jumped back, landing on the branch opposite of them.

Temari turned to Kankuro, ordering, "Go! Get out of here!"

Kankuro nodded. He jumped into the trees and disappeared from sight.

"Get back here!" Sasuke tried to follow after them, but the blonde appeared in his path. "Get out of the way! I don't want to hurt you."

"Never! I won't if you're going to hurt my brother!" Temari grabbed the object on her back and opened it to reveal a battle fan. She swung the fan in Sasuke's direction. The wind that came from the fan knocked him off his feet and sent him flying backwards. Sasuke had to flip in mid-air to land on his feet.

_God damn it, I have to fight her if I want to get to Gaara,_ Sasuke cursed. He really didn't want to fight her. It went against his morals to harm a girl but he had to. The girl could possibly kill him. And if he was to fight Temari, he had to be careful not to use all of his chakra. He had to fight Gaara later and there was no curse seal to save him this time. Temari narrowed her eyes, thinking something along the lines of fighting.

The two moved at the same time. Sasuke leapt into the air to throw kunai at the kunoichi, but she repelled them by swinging her fan. He landed on another branch as Temari leapt up to the one opposite of his. He smirked as Temari shouted and waved her fan.

"Wind scythe jutsu!"

Sasuke quickly jumped up to dodge the attack. The air sliced trees, including the one he was previously on. Great, one less tree to use. He jumped from tree to tree as Temari continuously used the same jutsu. Just as he jumped on yet another branch Temari shouted a different jutsu name.

"Sandstorm jutsu!"

This time Sasuke couldn't dodge the attack. His hands came together in the form of a seal just as the wind jutsu hit him. Temari smirked as Sasuke's body hit the trunk of a tree, but it faded when seeing the body poof into smoke. What came into view once the smoke cleared was a log. She gasped.

"A substitution jutsu!"

She looked around for a sign of Sasuke. Her head whirled to the side just as a yell came out.

"Fire style: Phoenix flower jutsu!"

Sasuke appeared out of the trees, fire coming out of his mouth. Temari heard the yell and swung her fan in that general direction. The wind immediately dispelled the fire. The avenger landed on a branch. Suddenly, his foot slipped, sending him towards the ground. In the corner of his eye, sand was visible on the branch. Temari smirked, following him down.

"Got you!" She threw kunai at Sasuke and failed to notice he was weaving hand seals. He cried out as the kunai hit his body. Temari landed on the ground and glanced up to see Sasuke's body fall. She was shocked to see another log fall onto the ground instead. She gritted her teeth, looking wildly around the area. "Stop hiding! What? Are you afraid I'll beat you?"

"You wish." Temari looked up above to see Sasuke standing on a tree. He had a smug smirk gracing his features. "Gotcha."

There was a loud explosion on the log where Sasuke had placed a paper bomb. Temari cried out as the blast hit her and sent her skidding against the forest floor. She struggled to sit up, but the blast had injured her. Sasuke jumped on a branch, glancing at her. He quickly turned away. He just hurt a girl. He just broke a moral of his. For some reason, he felt like part of his pride was gone. He was going to have to repair that later. Right now, he had to focus on getting to Gaara.

Sasuke continued on his way through the trees, leaving Temari to catch up with Kankuro.

It didn't take that long for Sasuke to catch up. Kankuro and Gaara were moving at an incredibly slow pace. Sasuke jumped in front of them, catching them by surprise. He smirked despite feeling exhausted.

"You won't get away this time!"

"Damn it. I guess I have no choice." Kankuro put Gaara down and was about to take his puppet out when someone shouted, "Wait!"

It was Temari who shouted this. She came out of the trees and jumped down next to Kankuro, who sighed in relief.

"So there you are. I was worried there for a second. When he appeared and you didn't, I thought he must have finished you off."

"He didn't, but he could have. I don't know why he let me go." Temari glared at Sasuke. "This time I'll kill you."

She was about to take her fan off her back, but Kankuro stopped her.

"No way. You're not in any condition to fight this guy. You wouldn't stand a chance against him. Besides," his lips curled up as he took his puppet off of his back, "You'll only get in my way."

Temari glanced at Sasuke and Kankuro before sighing in defeat. She put Gaara's arm around her shoulder and ran away.

_Are you fucking kidding me?_ Sasuke was tired of this stupid chase already. It was getting annoying. How the hell did his character do this without going crazy? Because he felt like he was going to lose it soon. _Stupid character of mine made this look so damn easy._

"It's time you fought me, Uchiha," Kankuro announced.

"Hn. Whatever. This is going to be quick anyway."

"Hold on," said another voice. Sasuke looked up to see a boy standing on a nearby branch. His hair was brown and spiked upwards. The most striking features about him were the high collar on his jacket and the shades blocking his eyes."I want to fight him first."

Kankuro scowled. "What do you want?"

"Shino? Why are you here?" Sasuke asked. He was entirely confused right now. He knew why Shino was there. It was to fight Kankuro to make up for not doing their fight. What he didn't get was why Shino would care. Sure, they knew each other but they weren't friends or even close. He didn't get that.

"I planted a beetle on you as you left the arena. A female one." He pointed at Sasuke's shirt. He looked down at his black shirt to see a small beetle on his shoulder. "They give off a strong scent although you can't smell it. One the male of the species can. He would follow her anywhere. Sasuke, you're after Gaara, right? You should go after him since you never got to finish your match. I have some unfinished business with Kankuro since we never got to fight. Go."

"Hn. You sure about that?"

"Just give me ten minutes and I'll check on you to make sure you're all right."

Sasuke smirked at the comment.

"Hn, I'll probably be done by the time you get there," he said smugly. He gave a nod at Shino before racing off to go after Gaara again. He silently wished Shino good luck. He would need it for when he is poisoned by Kankuro's puppets.

Sasuke ran, leaping through the trees. He eventually caught up to Temari and Gaara since they stopped. When landing on a branch behind them, he was surprised to see Gaara punch his sister into a tree. That knocked her out. He narrowed his eyes at the action. He felt like killing him for doing that to a girl-his own sister, no less-but said something else instead.

"I have no idea what your village's plans are, but I will stop you. Also…" A flash of curiosity plagued his eyes. "I want to see who you really are."

Sasuke thought he was crazy for thinking this. He thought he really was. But for some odd reason, he wanted to see the Shukaku for real. As in when the demon was out. He had no idea why he wanted to do this. Maybe it was some sick, fan person part of him that demanded for this to happen. Yeah, most likely.

Gaara groaned in pain and held his head. Sasuke could clearly see that there were more cracks on his face than before. It began to crack even more as Gaara moaned.

"No, Gaara! Remember the mission!" Temari pleaded from afar.

"You and I are alike, Uchiha," Gaara said, ignoring his sister. "You may have friends, but that isn't what makes you strong. It's your purpose that does it. We're very alike."

Sasuke felt a flare of anger go through him. What Gaara said didn't even make sense! He wanted power to protect his friends; that and to kill Orochimaru. He was not like Gaara at all. But then Sasuke realize it. He was gaining power to kill someone. It only reminded him of what his character was like. That Uchiha was gaining power to kill someone as well. It might have been a different person, but it was still the same goal. He suddenly felt uneasy. He was starting to become like his character in some way something that completely terrified him. He didn't want to be like him, and yet there he was, doing something similar to him. He was so confused.

"Once I've killed you, I will have destroyed those ambitions. Only then can I survive. Only then I can feel alive!" Gaara stopped, more cracks on his face and he started to scream. Sasuke was surprised to see him fall to his knees, clutching his head. Then he slowly lifted his head, leaving Sasuke horrified and oddly intrigued.

The left side of Gaara's body completely morphed into that of a monster. It made him look like a half-sand, half-human mutant. Gaara growled at Sasuke, the imminent bloodlust clear in his teal eyes.

"Let me feel it!"

_You know, I never realized this but Gaara's different from the other jinchuuriki, _Sasuke thought, his eyes wide. _He's the only one I've ever seen actually turn into his demon. Why is that?_

Sasuke just realized this. By what he had seen of the known jinchuuriki hosts, Gaara was the only one who could actually turn into his demon. All the rest like Naruto had a chakra cloak around them to resemble their demon. He didn't know why was that. He supposed it was because of how sane Gaara was. By what he remembered of the manga, Gaara had no one who loved him and only loved himself. That made him slightly unstable in the head and how the demon inside of him could easily take over such as now. The demon also made him bloodthirsty.

He tensed up as Gaara crouched and lunged at him. Sasuke dodged the attack in time and hid behind a tree. He took a deep calming breath to stop the fear that crawled within him. He looked over his shoulder to where Gaara was.

_What am I going to do? I'm screwed if he gets me._

He had no idea what to do right now. His mind was on panic alert. How in the world was he going to hold Gaara off until Naruto arrived? He didn't have the curse seal and had only one more shot to use the Chidori.

_Fuck my life._

"Why are you hiding? Are you afraid of me! Sasuke…Uchiha! Are you shocked by what I really look like?" Gaara taunted loudly. This was meant for Sasuke to hear those words.

Sasuke snorted as he stood to his feet. Shocked? By _him?_ As if. That creepy doll from his childhood was more shocking than him. His appearance actually intrigued him. He listened as Gaara kept taunting him to make him come out. He sighed. _I don't want to use Chidori, but I have to. It's the only way!_

He made the handseals for Chidori and activated his Sharingan. His right hand sparked blue with lightning chakra. His face became serious as he came out of his hiding place, and leaping straight at Gaara. Gaara saw him and lunged at him with his monster-like claw his weapon of choice. At the sight of the claw he thought his attack wouldn't work.

However, it did.

The Chidori sliced through the arm like it was a knife on butter. Gaara screamed in pain as they both landed on opposite branches. Sasuke was in a daze by then. His attack actually worked. He knew it would, but he had panicked. Facing off against a demon container when you had no special power that equalled their power could do that to a person. He didn't realize he was shaking until Gaara suddenly laughed.

_Okay, Gaara's finally cracked._

"So that's how it is...No wonder I'm so excited!" Gaara laughed, his vicious eyes staring at Sasuke. That made him shiver. "I just got my answer!" He stood to his feet holding the place where Sasuke hit him. "This pain...Defeating someone strong enough to hurt me then crushing him....That's what gives me an even greater sense of existence!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. Yes, he had finally cracked.

"I want more....So much more!" Gaara was in a crouch by now. Sasuke saw sand pour out of the gourd on his back and it formed a tail. He cursed at that. If his transformation kept going he was going to die. It was just his luck that something like this would happen to him.

Sasuke tensed up when Gaara's tail and arm wrapped around the tree trunk he stood on. Then using both of them as leverage, he launched himself at Sasuke. He was too fast. Sasuke jumped at the last second as the redhead zoomed past him, completely destroying the tree. He winced at the chunks of wood that sprayed on him. He didn't even have time to react when he landed on a branch upside down. With his Sharingan he saw Gaara use his claws to grab onto another branch to stop him and send him back like a rubber band snapping back.

_Oh, shit!_

In a desperate moment Sasuke used a fireball jutsu to somehow stop him. That didn't work. Gaara just kept coming at him. Sasuke raised his arms to guard himself against Gaara's attack. He was hit and flew through several trees before he felt himself slam into another tree. He cried out in pain, waves of it going through his body.

_Damn...None of my jutsu will work. Only the Chidori will,_ Sasuke thought through the pain. _But I used up my final shot for the day. Kakashi's right if I try for a third shot. I'll die for sure. Damn! What am I going to do?_

He was stuck now. He used his lad Chidori already and there was no way he was trying for a third. The curse seal helped him make that third shot in the series. He didn't have that curse seal now. He was screwed.

Sasuke, through his thinking, heard Gaara taunting him. He was saying that he was weaker than he was and his hate was weak as well. This infuriated him. He hated being called weak.

"Shut up!" Sasuke had it with this guy. He stood to his feet in anger and unconsciously made seals for Chidori. He leapt at Gaara with a battle cry. Gaara did the same. But halfway, the Chidori disappated. That was when Sasuke realized his mistake.

_No!_

He knew it was over for him. No one was going to come and save him. He was going to die because of a stupid mistake out of anger. It was his fault. Now he was going to die without telling everyone goodbye. He shut his eyes, grinding his teeth, hoping the shinigami would go easy on him in death.

""Leave my best friend alone!"

Sasuke just heard the shout when he suddenly felt his body go vertigo. He felt like he was slammed in one direction before being flung off backward like a pinball machine. Then he felt himself slamming into something hard. There was a grunt of pain behind him and another slam against something. Then it all stopped.

"Ouch! That was close. Another second and you would have been dead!" A familiar voice said behind him.

Sasuke snapped his eyes open at the voice. He would recognize it anywhere. His head whirled around and his eyes widened with shock and happiness.

"Katy!"

Sasuke snapped his eyes open at the voice. He would recognize it anywhere. He lifted his head and his eyes widened with shock and happiness.

"Hey, Sasuke! Sorry I didn't get here sooner. I'm really slow at running and it took awhile to climb up these trees," she said. She rubbed the back of her head. "My bad."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Her voice sounded hoarse as if it was used too much. Not only that, it sounded weak. He scooted away from her. There was something different about her. He turned fully around and was shocked by what he saw.

Katy was sitting against the tree with her legs splayed out. Her face was dirty from grime and blood with a nasty bruise on her cheek. Below that dirty face she was as pale as a ghost. She was also wearing this large lavender kimono shirt that fit her like a dress, but was terribly dirty. A rope closed up the shirt. Past the shirt Sasuke saw many cuts and bruises that painted across her form. He saw that she was too skinny like she hasn't eaten in weeks. She also wore no shoes on her dirty feet. To say the least she looked horrible. It was like she's been living in the wild and was near death. It also looked like she hadn't bathed in awhile since her hair was completely black because of a weird substance.

"Katy, what happened to you? You look horrible."

Katy's smiled faded as she opened her eyes. Another shock came to Sasuke. Her eyes had turned darker and somewhat lighter to the point they were a dark red color. "Thanks, Sasuke. That's something I love to hear after we haven't seen each other in so long."

Sasuke couldn't respond to that. He was too surprised by Katy's eyes. They turned a different color! How...?

"Katy...your eyes...."

She tensed up at the mention of her eyes. Sasuke saw that her eyes held something in them that she never had around him: fear and rejection. Why would she feel that way around him? Why would she be afraid of rejection from him? She held a hand over one eye.

"S-Sasuke, I-I..." Katy was suddenly lost for words; another first for Sasuke. She looked like she was about to cry when she glanced over his shoulder and gasped. "Sasuke, look out!"

Sasuke didn't have time to see. He only saw Gaara charging at them when there was a hard shove against his shoulder. He slipped off the tree trunk and looked up to see Katy curling up in a ball against the trunk of the tree. Right above her was Gaara's claw. Sasuke grabbed one of the tree branches below him and pulled himself up to stand on the branch. He watched as Gaara glared down at Katy, who quickly recovered and tried to get away. However, she was not fast enough because sand gathered around her and the tree. Katy was locked into place against the tree with no hope of escape. A malicious grin spread across Gaara's face.

"You've caused me pain as well. You need to die!"

"No, Gaara! Please don't!" Katy shrieked. "Don't let that crazy monster inhabit your mind. Fight against him!"

Gaara laughed. "So you think I'm a monster? You people are all alike!" He gripped his hand tightly. Katy screamed.

"Katy!"

Sasuke didn't know what to do. Katy was already hurt and Gaara might be squeezing the life out of her. What was he going to do when he had no goddamn chakra left in his body? Katy shrieked again and he saw her head go limp.

"Katy? Katy! Don't close your eyes!" Sasuke shouted. She had to stay conscious even if she was being squeezed to death. If she closed her eyes, she might truly die! He cursed at himself, getting ready to jump up and save her. But someone beat him to it.

Suddenly, a flash of yellow and orange came out of nowhere and kicked Gaara away from Katy. Sasuke jumped up to the branch to see it was Naruto who did that. Naruto was glaring at Gaara not too far away.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura, Haku, and a small pug dog came in and landed next to him. Sakura sighed in relief when seeing Sasuke safe.

"Oh, thank god! You're okay!"

Sasuke gave a brief nod before turning to Katy. Her head was still limp and she was still encased in the sand that kept her against the tree. He took out a kunai and tried to cut away the sand. No luck. Only little crumbles of sand fell. He kept trying anyway.

"Who is that?" Haku asked, seeing the girl.

"And who's that?" Naruto asked, pointing over at Gaara.

"He may look different but that's Gaara," the little pug answered Naruto.

"This is Katy," Sasuke replied. He stabbed at the sand harshly and glared at it.

Sakura and Haku gasped.

"What? But how did she get here?"

"Is she okay?"

Sasuke shot Haku a dark look that said 'Are you stupid or something?' Haku was unaffected by the look. He took out a kunai as well to try and dig her out of the sand.

"Guys, look out!" Naruto cried.

The three turned around to see Gaara coming at them. Sasuke cursed himself for not noticing. Then he saw Sakura standing up to try and protect them.

"No!" someone shouted. Sasuke faintly noted that he shouted that, but didn't care. He tackled Sakura to get both of them out of the way. Gaara's claw hit the tree instead. Haku, seeing that staying near Gaara was dangerous, quickly grabbed Katy and got away from him. They were out of danger now.

"Are you stupid or something! You could've gotten yourself killed with that move!" Sasuke hissed down on Sakura.

"S-Sasuke-kun..." Sakura closed her eyes and her face turned a deep red. Sasuke wondered why she was blushing until he noticed their position.

When he tackled Sakura to get her out of the way he knocked her down flat on her back. He fell as well so he was on top of her, straddling her hips. Both of his hands were also on both sides of his head. Their faces were so close that Sasuke could actually feel Sakura's breath on his face. He ended up with a faint blush on his face, but turned his head away to conceal it. Then he quickly got off of her, looking at everything but her.

"S-Sorry," Sasuke apologized. Inside his mind, he was panicking.

_I did not just stutter_. _I never stuttered in my life or even around a girl. My teammate no less! What is wrong with me?_

Sakura stood up and stared at Sasuke. Although he head was turned, she could see light pink skin. She wondered if he was blushing, but shot that idea down. Sasuke would never blush; especially around her. Then she glanced around to find Haku and Katy. All she saw was Naruto and Gaara starting to fight.

"Where's Haku?"

Sasuke looked around the area as well to find them. He quickly did. He found Haku had hidden himself behind the tree Katy was trapped against. Haku peeked around the tree to see that Gaara was fighting. He then jumped over to the other branch of the tree and proceeded to break Katy out. Sasuke was tempted to go over and help, but he could not go over if he wished to get hit by a random jutsu.

There was suddenly a blast of air. The wave was so strong that Sasuke and Sakura had to duck to not get blown away. When it was over they looked up to see what caused it and saw a huge tan monster. It gave an animalistic cry that shook the entire area.

"Wh-What is that?" Sakura gasped, her voice a mix of horror and surprise.

"I don't know," Sasuke lied. He knew that massive was the demon himself, Shukaku, but he didn't say anything that could worry Sakura. He glanced up in surprise when a giant toad wielding a short knife and a pipe in his mouth appeared. On top of the toad he saw a blond head and orange clothes: Naruto. Sasuke saw that they were about to fight and grabbed Sakura's hand. "Come on. We need to get to somewhere safer before it gets too dangerous."

"Wait, shouldn't we help Naruto?" asked Sakura. They were getting away from the area they were previously in. It was a good thing too. The giant summoning animals already destroyed that area.

"We can't. Not if we just want to get in the way."

"Sasuke's right." The little pug appeared by their side just as they found a safe location. "With how Gaara and Naruto going at it we'd only get in the way."

"Oh." Sakura bit her lip and wringed her hands together. "I just wish we could do something."

"Hn." Sasuke sat down on the branch, his against the tree bark. He silently agreed with her. He wanted to help Naruto fight as well as much as he didn't want to admit it. But really, what could they do? They didn't have the abilities or strength that Naruto had. They weren't even close. This infuriated Sasuke. Damn that Naruto! He was getting stronger each day. He was getting stronger while Sasuke couldn't compare to him. Next to Naruto he looked like an idiot and a weakling.

_i have to get stronger. _Sasuke was tired of getting all the time by his friends. They were always helping him out while he did nothing in return. If he couldn't protect those around him then everything he was working for was for naught.

The battle between Gaara and Naruto continued around them. The two huge animals fought with each other, not seeming to care about their environment. Naruto seemed to as the toad had suddnely moved away from his friends. Sasuke was amazed once again (and against his better judgement) at Naruto's strength. He gave an amused smirk when he changed the toad into the Kyuubi to get Gaara's demon still. The battle seemed to have ended when both giants disappeared/crumbled away and sent both Naruto and Gaara freefalling to the ground.

Sasuke stood to his feet as the two disappeared into the trees. Then he turned to Sakura and said, "Go find Haku and Katy. I'll go get Naruto."

Sakura nodded obediently. She stood up and ran in some general direction with the pug at her side. He went the other way towards where he thought Gaara and Naruto fell. He jumped through a few trees until he saw Naruto trying to crawl to Gaara. Sasuke stood on a branch as he listened to Naruto say he knew how Gaara felt to be alone. Sasuke felt slightly sympathetic to both boys at the moment. Both of them were alone for most of their lives and pitied on. They never knew what it felt like to be loved until now. When Sasuke first red through the manga he knew how they felt. But now Sasuke was happy and knew they would be as well. They would be loved in the future for who they were, not for what was sealed within them. Naruto would have all his friends by him and Gaara would have his siblings and village. They were going to be no longer alone.

Naruto finished talking and Sasuke took this time to finally show himself. He jumped down to the ground and stood next to Naruto. He may not have been showing it, but he was smiling on the inside.

"Hey. Everyone's alright, including Sakura," he informed him.

"I...see..." Naruto closed his eyes and fell asleep, exhausted from the fight he just had.

_Tch. Stupid little idiot._

None the less, Sasuke couldn't help but let a very tiny smile appear on his face. That faded when he turned over to Gaara where both his siblings appeared. Both may have looked tired and worn out, but they glared at Sasuke menacingly. They thought that Sasuke would attack them.

"Temari...that's enough," Gaara weakly said.

Temari and Kankuro turned to stare down at Gaara in shock. The shock soon passed.

"O-Okay."

Kankuro hauled Gaara's arm over his shoulder. Temari stared at Naruto with realization then the two ran off.

No sooner had they left, Sakura and Haku appeared by Sasuke.

"Naruto!" Sakura knelt by him and examined him quickly. "The idiot...he wore himself out! He's probably going to be sleeping for day!" She was smiling with tears in her eyes. She was happy that Naruto saved them.

Sasuke punched himself for this but he was glad too. He glanced over to Haku. After the sand disintegrated, Haku grabbed Katy and brought her down. She was still unconscious. He was worried about Katy; Sasuke as well. He stared at his best friend, willing her to wake up. That did not happen.

_Katy...what happened to you?_

Sasuke sighed heavily. He wouldn't get that answer until she was awake.

"We should get back to the village," he said.

Sakura and Haku nodded in agreement. Sasuke hauled Naruto onto his shoulder, then the three set off back towards the village.

* * *

The Hokage's funeral arrived two days later. Every shinobi in the village came to the Hokage tower but a limited few were allowed on the roof itself. The Konoha genin were just a few to name. They were all mourning for not only the Third Hokage's death. They were also mourning for that of the ninjas who gave their lives to protect their village during the attack.

It was raining on that day. Sasuke hardly cared for the rain. He was only thinking. He felt horrible that he knew about the Hokage's death and didn't do anything about it. If he had the old man would still be alive and many of the ninjas wouldn't be mourning him. Even after everything he had done for him and Katy. Not only that, they lost the only person here who knew where Sasuke had disappeared to for five years. He would be the last as well. Sasuke did not trust anyone else. Only he and Katy would keep that secret to their graves.

Speaking of Katy, she was currently holding onto his arm crying quietly into the fabric of his shoulder. She, as well, was dressed in black. The black dress she wore clinged to her tightly even without the rain. It only made it heavier. Her dark brownish-red eyes were closed in sadness. Also, one of her arms was in an arm brace because of the pressure put on them when she was almost crushed by the sand. It was broken like her left hand was.

Sasuke began to think about the conversation that they had that morning when he was picking her up from the hospital. He wanted to ask her where she was for the past month. She wouldn't tell him. She simply gave him a sad smile and said, "After the funeral. I'll tell you everything then."

Sasuke saw that Katy seemed really scared to talk about it then. So he decided to wait for that time. Though he was curious to how she got them. He was also worried and had a bad feeling of what she had to say.

The rain finally stopped as the funeral session ended. The sun came out through the clouds, shining like a beacon over the whole village. The ninjas began to exit the roof. Katy and Sasuke began their way down among the crowd. After the funeral they were supposed to be meeting their friend in front of the tower. Haku was probably there since they lost him in the crowd. Katy held Sasuke's hand with her good hand so that they wouldn't be separated. Right now she was wiping away her tears.

"Are you done crying?" Sasuke asked. Katy nodded. He reached into his pocket for a tissue and handed it to her. He knew she was going to cry during the funeral so he brought one.

"Th-Thanks." She accepted the tissue and used it to wipe her wet face. She frowned at the ground. "I feel so bad that he died. We knew he was going to die, but we didn't do anything stop it."

"Hn." That meant Sasuke agreed. "It was the right thing to do. Tsunade needs to become the new Hokage. The death of the Third had to happen."

"I know. But it feels like we kind of killed him, you know? Or at least left him to die."

"I guess."

Sasuke did not know about killing him, but if felt like it. Just as Katy said.

The two finally got to the bottom of the stairs. When they did they heard their names called.

"Sasuke-kun! Katy-chan!"

They saw that it was Sakura. She was with Kakashi, Naruto, and Haku in front of the tower. She was waving over to them. They walked over to the team and Katy smiled. Sakura smiled back. She opened her mouth and said something to them, but in a completely different language. Sasuke and Katy couldn't even understand her.

"Huh? What did you say?" Katy slapped her mouth shut, her eyes wide. She released her mouth, slowly speaking. "What's going on? I can't speak Japanese anymore."

"What are you-" Sasuke paused, noticing all of his words were in English. He was used to speaking Japanese so he didn't use his English as must except when speaking to Katy in private. He couldn't even try to speak Japanese. What was going on?"

Haku said something to them and he seemed worried. The two still didn't understand what he said.

Katy tugged on Sasuke's hand.

"Sasuke, why can't we speak Japanese or understand it anymore?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know. Unless…" Katy noticed that he trailed off. She looked at his face to see his eyes becoming wide with realization and horror. She wondered why he trailed off until she realized it herself. The two slowly turned to each other, their eyes slightly wide. They said the one thing they knew that could lead to them being in trouble. Big trouble.

"The language jutsu wore off."

* * *

And there you have it! I finally got this chapter up and running! Sorry it took awhile but I had to have my beta reader correct it for me. Yup! You heard right! I have a new beta reader, thank God! I was tired of all the mistakes I was having so I asked one of the reviewers for this story to be my beta reader! I will not reveal their penname if he does not want his name to be revealed so yeah. Thank you, by the way! (You know who you are)

Oh, and I'm going to explain this before I get reviews on saying things like, "WTF! How could she have angel wings when Orochimaru was giving her Uchiha blood!" Most of you guessed that she had Uchiha blood because of your reviews mentioned it. If you didn't know, then sorry. All of this mystery will be explained in the next chapter. I just looked up that chapter again to see that it does explain everything. All I can tell you that there were two vials. Not one. So wait until then, okay?

Okay, then! Please review!

-Twilit angel

EDIT: Okay, I've made some huge changes to this. I've been thinking about it and I'm going to tweak Katy's whole experiment issue. After much thought I decided that to hell with the angel thing! I'm changing this so it would make more sense! A few reviewers and my beta think that this whole thing with Katy is getting ridiculous and now I agree. Screw it. I'm changing it. To those of you who have read this chapter before the edit, please read it again as there are different things. For chapter 27, I'm going to tweak that as well.


	27. Explainations

**Remembering what was forgotten**

Chapter 27

"Hey, did you find anything yet?" Katy asked, running into Sasuke's father's office.

Sasuke shook his head. Right now he sat in the middle of a circle made up of books and scrolls that belonged to his father.

Katy cursed, leaning on the doorframe of the office. Banging her head against it, she yelled "Ugh! We'll never be able to find it at this rate! We're going to have to learn it ourselves! That could take months!"

"I know that!" He snapped back at her. He then sighed in frustration. The stress of searching was beginning to get to him. The thought of learning the language made it even worse. "But we have to if we can't find any translation or language jutsu."

"Man, that sucks! Why couldn't the old man leave some jutsu that helped us with the language? Like the one he used on us?

"Hn."

Katy translated this to 'It would be easier for us if we did.'

The moment that Katy and Sasuke found out they lost the ability to understand and speak Japanese they rushed home. They surprised Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, and Haku as well. Once arriving home, the two began a mad search around the house. They knew the Uchihas had to have some kind of technique that could let them understand Japanese. But the search lasted for two hours and they began to lose hope. All they found so far were some history books, a list of all the current living Uchiha before the massacre, piles of scrolls that contained family techniques (which Sasuke decided to keep), and some weird doll Katy found. She found it in a box in one of the linen closets. It kind of resembled Chuckie, but in a cuter way. This prompted her to keep it. It now sat in her room on her bed. Other than that, nothing.

"Isn't there anymore scrolls that could have some technique?" The girl asked as she picked up the scrolls and books on the floor and started putting them back on their shelves.

Sasuke shook his head. "Not in here. We've already searched the whole house."

"And this is where all the family techniques are kept." She sighed. The two of them found out some time after moving into the Uchiha home that all the family scrolls were kept at the leader's home for safekeeping. When a family member learned the fireball jutsu and proves themselves an adult of the clan the member could learn more family techniques from another family member or could borrow a scroll from the clan leader. All of the scrolls were kept in shelves in Fugaku's office. Katy put a scroll onto a shelf rather roughly. "Well, what now? There's no other place here that could have a translation jutsu."

Sasuke thought Katy was right. They checked every inch of this place. There was nowhere else to check if the clan did have a translation jutsu. He had a feeling they did.

_Of course there is. There's always that place._

He realized his conscious was right. The only other place there was to check for something was there. He had a gut feeling it could be there, so there was only one thing to do. Check and prove that feeling right.

Katy was confused as Sasuke stood up and walked out the door towards the front door.

"Sasuke? Where are you going?"

"Hn."

He was already out the door, leaving Katy confused.

Sasuke exited the house and started to run through the streets of the small town. He ran past the empty homes, stores and down the equally empty streets. As he ran towards his destination, he could not help but feel a weird sense of déjà vu. Like he did something like this before with this same setting. He probably did at one point but it just didn't come to him, not even when he arrived at his destination.

He arrived at a shrine of all places. The shrine was large and had a courtyard similar to the ones in Japan. Actually, the whole place looked exactly like a Japanese shrine complete with a red arch and sakura trees. The only difference from a real Japanese shrine and this was that this one had brown leaves and wild grass growing in the courtyard. The whole place was unkempt from years of negligence. Sasuke hardly cared for the appearance and walked into the shrine.

The Uchiha walked through the shrine with the worn out wood floors and torn paper doors. He wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly. He didn't have the specific details on it, nor did he care. Well, he may have but not right now. Why was Sasuke at a shrine inside of the Uchiha town in the first place? It wasn't like there was anything there for him. That's where he thought wrong. This shrine wasn't just any old shrine.

It was the Nakano Shrine.

This very shrine was the secret meeting place of his clan when they were planning the coup d'etat. The very place where he would learn a dangerous secret.

He opened a random door on his right. It was a room big enough to hold about twenty or so people and had an alter with a statue of a woman. He guessed this room was the right one. He entered the room and counted the tatami mats seven up. Then he went over to the tatami mat he landed on, knelt down, and knocked on it. Instead of hearing the solid sound of wood, there was the sound of his knocking bounding off into something below the mat (Sorry. Was watching Boundin' on Pixar short films when I was writing this XP). Something was under the mat. He spotted a small latch to open it.

The tatami mat flipped open to reveal a staircase that led down to a door. Common sense still seemed to work, as he took a candle from the altar. A soft apology left his lips as he took it, hoping not to anger that goddess. Then he went down the hidden stairs to the door. He opened it to see only darkness and, with the candle's help, another set of stairs. This was to be expected, so he carefully descended down the stairs.

Sasuke walked down the stairs for what seemed like an hour but really a few minutes. He came to the end of his journey when coming across a wooden door with the clan crest on it. He rolled his eyes at the crest as he opened the door. He may have been an Uchiha, but he was starting to get sick of the crest. It was everywhere in the estate! He was all in for the clan pride, but there was a point where someone had to draw the line.

When stepping through the door Sasuke jumped when fire erupted onto candles in dishes around the whole room. Now that there was more light he saw that the room was circular with wooden plank walls. On those walls were paper seals with writing on them. In front of him on the other side of the room where the walls were made of stone were two Uchiha crests that rested beside what seemed like an alter and some type of scrolls on the wall. A large stone with carvings was on the ground.

Sasuke was awed by the sheer size of the room. It was as big as a ballroom and could fit at least a hundred people. He never thought a room this size could fit underground! This was amazing. He glanced around the room until his eyes landed on the altar with the stone. Through the dimness of the lighting he could see a small scroll laying on top of the stone. Sasuke knew that had to be the one.

Excited that he found the scroll, Sasuke quickly hurried over to the altar. It took only five seconds before he reached the altar. He hastily grabbed the scroll and unfurled it. The scroll had Japanese writing on it, but he didn't care. His eyes scanned the writing for a certain word…

"A-ha!" He couldn't help but shout. He found the word 'translation' in Japanese on the scroll. It was only one of the few words that Sasuke actually knew without anything assisting him. It was only because he remembered the word when trying to learn the language on his own back home. That, and the Japanese word for 'language' as well. Remembering those two words actually helped him right now.

Sasuke rolled the scroll up. He needed to use this jutsu on him and Katy as quickly as possible. He proceeded to leave, but the Japanese writing on the grewy stone caught his eyes. He stared at the stone. Sasuke knew this stone was important, so much that the feeling almost seemed to radiate off it. The only problem was that he couldn't understand a word it had to give. This frustrated him.

_Damn. I can't read it until we get this jutsu back on. I'll come back when I can to read it._

With that decided upon, he ran out of the large room to race back home.

A few minutes later Sasuke returned home. He quickly entered and ran through the house to find Katy in the kitchen, making tea. He entered the room and she turned to him.

"Sasuke, where did you go?" Katy demanded as she turned off the stove. "You could have at least warned me when you run off like that!"

"I found it." The girl blinked blankly at the sentence. "I found the translation jutsu."

"Oh! Why didn't you say so? Hurry up and use it, teme!"

_Impatient as always._ Sasuke smirked. He missed having her around.

Going over to the table, he unrolled the scroll and laid it there. His eyes scanned through the words to look for the seals. He found them and gestured for Katy to come closer. She did as she was told and sat by him. He then started to weave through the seals. At the final seal he quickly flicked the girl's forehead. She let out a shout; there were stars in her eyes for some reason. A hand rubbed the spot where he flicked her, eyes glaring as he repeated the seals to use on himself.

"That hurt, you damn-" Katy broke off mid-sentence. She noticed the different words coming out of her mouth. A smile broke out on her face. "We can speak Japanese again!" she glanced over to the scroll. She could understand the writing. "And we can read again!"

Sasuke finished the seal and felt chakra go straight to his head. This made him see stars as well. Shaking it off, he said, "What did you expect to speak? French?"

"Hey! I wouldn't mind speaking French. It'd be really cool."

"Hn." He ignored her as he rolled the scroll back up and placed it in his pocket. He looked up to see Katy's face when everything seemed to tilt and his head suddenly felt light. Suddenly, he and the Earth got a little more acquainted, as his body went crashing onto the floor.

She wasted not time in rushing to the boy. "Sasuke! Are you alright?" Katy sat by Sasuke and put her hand on his back to sooth him. She saw he had his eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm…fine," He gasped. The feeling of fatigue washed over his body and it was only then that the amount of chakra used for the jutsu hit him.

"You're not fine, you idiot." Katy frowned. "You just used up all your chakra on that jutsu, didn't you? Sasuke , you need to know your limits! Chakra exhaustion could kill you, ya know. I should know. It hurts to be like that."

Sasuke felt fine a few seconds later and sat up slowly. He heard the hurt tone she had when she said that. He glanced at Katy to see her bite her lip.

"Katy, I thought you couldn't use chakra."

When he first trained his Sharingan, he wanted to see the chakra coils in a person. Haku and Katy were nearby so he used his eyes on them. Matured coils were visible in Haku's body, but much to his surprise, almost none existed in Katy's body. She was told afterward and they both guessed that she didn't have any due to being from a different world from them. Where she was born no one had chakra so neither did she. Her dreams of being a ninja was instantly crushed.

But how could she know what chakra exhaustion felt like? There was something weird going on and she wasn't telling him what.

"Katy, is there something you're not telling me?" He asked, eyeing the girl.

The girl hesitantly nodded, biting her lip to the point of breaking it open. "I-I'm sorry. It-It actually happened when I was at-"

"Sasuke! Katy-chan? Are you guys here?" Haku's voice sounded from the front door.

"We're in the kitchen!" Katy responded.

There were footsteps that got louder as they approached the kitchen. Haku popped his head in and smiled when seeing Katy and Sasuke there. He walked in and sat by Katy.

"There you are. We were all surprised when you just ran off like that," He said. "We looked all over for you two. I should have known you would be here in the first place."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"I didn't expect you to have such a nice home, Sasuke."

Kakashi suddenly walked through the doorway. He had his hands in his pockets when he strode in. Behind him were Naruto and Sakura. This caught the two sitting at the table off guard. "Compared to the others, this one is in such nice condition."

Sakura nodded in agreement.

"What the hell are you guys doing in my house?" Sasuke demanded, growling. He didn't want these three to know where he lived! This was the only place in the village where he could feel like he had privacy. Now that was gone. He was already grimacing at the thought of Sakura fangirlishly greeting him when he got up.

"Normally, I would yell at Sasuke for being rude but what are you guys doing here and why?" Katy asked, completely confused.

"After you guys ran off, we decided to look for you," Sakura explained. She sat down at the table, to which Kakashi and Naruto followed. "Haku suggested you would be here so he invited us over."

Sasuke shot a glare at Haku. He replied back with an innocent smile.

"What? Don't like us in your house, teme?" Naruto teased.

"No! Get the fuck out of my house, dobe!"

"Make me, teme!"

Both boys winced when they were struck on the head by their female counterparts; Katy to Sasuke and Sakura to Naruto.

"Sasuke, they're our guests. Be polite!" Katy hissed. She stood to her feet to go get some tea and snacks for everyone.

"Naruto! Don't be so rude in other people's homes!" Sakura scolded.

"S-Sorry, Sakura-chan."

"Hn."

Both boys glared daggers at each other across the table causing the girls to sigh. Boys will be boys. Haku saw that Katy couldn't use both of her hands, so he put snacks on the table and handed a cup of tea to everyone. Then Haku sat down next to Katy.

"So why did you guys run off like that, anyway?" Naruto asked while stuffing a cookie into his mouth.

"We had to do something," Sasuke muttered.

"Like what?" Kakashi asked. "It must have been important if you two ran off like your life depended on it."

"We had to handle something we forgot," Katy lied. Sasuke was impressed at how smoothly she lied. She usually sucked at it. "But we handled it, so don't worry."

"Oh, and that reminds me, Katy-chan," Kakashi said. He had his book out and was reading it at the table. "Where exactly did you go for the past month? My students have been worried about you, especially Sasuke."

"Aw, Sasuke, you missed me?" Katy teased, grinning at the new information.

"Shut up," he growled. He shot a glare at Kakashi. Why did he have to mention that? Now she was going to tease him for who knew how long.

She giggled. "It's okay. I worry all the time about you, too. Anyway, I was about to explain to Sasuke where I've been when you guys came by."

"So where did you go? We've all been worried when you were suddenly gone," Haku said.

Her expression changed until she looked incredibly hurt and sad.

"I was…I was kidnapped a few nights after you went after Sasuke with Milady."

"Kidnapped? By who?" Naruto asked.

Katy visibly tensed up and closed her eyes.

"B-By Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?"

"Y-You were kidnapped by him?" Sakura gasped.

She nodded, opening her eyes to reveal unshed tears.

"Why would he kidnap you for?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes burning fire.

"I didn't know at first," Katy honestly admitted. "The first thing I saw when I woke up was that I was in some kind of cell. I didn't know why I was there and some sound ninjas said they were going to bring me to Orochimaru. You could bet that I wasn't going to stay so I tried to escape. I didn't get very far before I was caught by that damn glasses wearing freak. That guy dragged me into a creepy room with a surgery table and made sure I wouldn't escape. Th-Then Orochimaru came in with a vial of blood a-and th-they e-experimented on me." She controlled her ragged breathing, willing herself not to cry. "For five straight days I was in so much pain. It felt like my blood was trying to burn my body…I could barely register that time passed by because of the agony I went through."

A tear slid down her check at the painful memory. The darkness, the fire, and her screams were too much to bear. She quickly wiped away her tear and sniffled.

"Katy, can you continue? I know this is hard, but we need to know what happened to you," Kakashi gently said. His book lay on the table, forgotten.

She nodded.

"After I woke up, I found out that I had been out for only two days after the pain faded away. I didn't know where I was or how I got there. I didn't know what was going on and tried to get out again when Orochimaru's lackeys stopped me. They tied me up and chained me to the wall so that I wouldn't run. You have no idea how scared I was when Orochimaru came into the room. Then he explained everything to me. He said…he said…" Katy sighed. "My DNA changed and I was no longer who I was. I was not the girl who I was before. Not anymore. The bastard did a DNA changing experiment on me. He wanted to do this experiment for a long time. He chose me as the subject because I was the one most suited for it."

"B-But that's not fair! How could he choose you when you didn't do anything to him?" Sakura cried out.

She shook her head. "I don't know. But I was the lucky person I guess." She let out a bitter laugh. "It might also be that I'm too innocent for my own good. Because of my innocence, Orochimaru changed my DNA so that I could become a half-something, one-fourt another something, and one-fourth normal."

"Do you know what these somethings are?" Kakashi questioned.

She shrugged.

"I'm not very sure. My eyes are kind weird, too. Orochimaru experimented on them while I was knocked out from the other experiment. I didn't know they were a different color until I looked in the mirror at the hospital. Then one of the mystery chakras might have given me the ability to used chakra since I never could use them before."

"That's really weird." Naruto leaned across the table to look at her eyes. "Your eyes used to be so pretty. Now they just looked kinda red and washed out."

"I liked my eyes, too. I think that experimenting did something, though, because I can see everything clearer. Like, before I was seeing everything through a dirty glass but now that glass has been cleaned and now sparkling," Katy replied.

"We'll probably have to check your blood later," Kakashi mentioned. "That way we can see if your DNA really did change. And perhaps we should examine your eyes ,just in case Orochimaru damaged them in anyway."

"Okay."

"So how did you escape from them, Katy-chan?" Haku asked, sipping his tea.

"Oh, that? That was actually easier than the first two times," she said. "I was only able to escape because Orochimaru and his personal guards left to go attack the village. The place where I was held captive was one of the old hideouts Orochimaru had around the country by what I heard so that he could stay close to the village. Because Orochimaru took most of his troops to the village, I was able to take out the ones that stayed behind with the few jutsus I was forced to learn. I escaped the hideout and made a beeline for the village. On the way I had to climb up the trees and swing from them so I wouldn't get caught on the ground. Then when I ran towards the village I ran into Sasuke and Gaara having their fight. I helped out Sasuke, of course, by using some explosive notes I found on a dead Sound ninja-gross, I may add- but I guess I passed out from Gaara almost killing me. Not to mention I wasn't at full strength what with not eating for a whole month and getting beaten nearly to death by four Sound ninjas for not doing what they said. Because of that and not feeding me for a whole month, I'm surprised I'm even alive!"

"Th-They hurt you for a whole month?" Sakura quietly said.

Katy nodded, wincing at the memories. She remembered how each time she refused to do something they wanted they would beat her until she was begging for mercy and promising to do what they said. It would be too late, though. They would beat her half to death. The Sound five liked to do this the most as it was their favorite punishment for her. Only four of them would beat her. The fifth, Kimimaro, would merely standby and watch as they beat her. Katy, on one occasion, had actually seen his eyes stare at her with sympathy and pity. She didn't understand this until she remembered his past. He was neglected and treated as a weapon as well when he was younger. He was used as a tool as Katy was going to be for Orochimaru. That was probably why Kimimaro didn't hit her or beat her. All he did was stand by.

_Now that I think about it, Kimimaro was probably the nicest person to me while I was there_, Katy realized. Now that she remembered, Kimimaro tried to help her on a few occasions. Once, the guards refused to give her water when she was completely dehydrated. She had to try and fall asleep with nothing to drink. Later that night, she wasn't even near sleep when she heard someone in the cell. She looked through the bars to see it was Kimimaro with a glass of water.

"Here." He set the glass down inside her cell. He stared at her to see her large eyes. "You're thirsty, are you not?"

She nodded, completely dumbfounded. Why was he so nice to her?

"Then drink." He nudged the glass further into her cell towards her.

Katy glanced at the glass, then at Kimimaro. Then she lunged at the glass like a wild animal and started chugging it down. After all, she was completely thirsty. When she was finished, she handed the glass back to him through the bars, whispering, "Th-Thank... you."

Kimimaro glanced at her face through the dim lighting to see her kind smile. Then he nodded and left the room.

Katy was touched by the act of kindness. She never expected anyone to be kind to her so she obeyed anything that Kimimaro said to her. In her mind, it was her way or repaying his kindness, though the feeling still hasn't left her.

After that small act of kindness, Katy saw that Kimimaro was genuinely helping her of his own accord. Of course, she didn't understand why he was doing these things for her or even why he was helping her. But she accepted the help at the time. She needed to survive for her mother and Sasuke.

_If I ever see him again, I've gotta repay him somehow_.

"Oh, Katy-chan!" Sakura jumped to her feet and went to go hug Katy tightly. Katy was surprised at the hug. "Don't cry anymore. You won't have to go through something like that ever again."

Katy blinked was about to say she wasn't crying when she felt the tears on her cheeks. She lifted up a hand to wipe them away, but more just came. By this time, she was sobbing but didn't realize it until she was crying on Sakura's shoulder. After what happened for the past month, she couldn't help but let it all out. Sakura, like a good friend, hugged Katy tightly and let her cry.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Haku watched this scene with pity for Katy. Katy was but a civilan and had been thrown into matters meant between ninjas. How could Orochimaru do this to the poor girl? She had nothing to do with this.

Sasuke felt the same emotions as the three males. He's been silent through Katy's explanation and became broken hearted at the sight of his friend crying because of what happened to her. How could all of this have happen? Katy was never supposed to get hurt or even involved in the Shinobi world. She was supposed to be his support as he changed the storyline. Sure, Katy changed the storyline a bit y having Haku alive, but not this deeply involved. She wasn't supposed to have her DNA changed.

_Orochimaru… _Sasuke grew pissed at that name. Before, he only felt ear towards that name. Now it was only hatred. How dare Orochimaru do this to Katy? To put her through all that pain? Katy didn't deserve that pain and abuse she received during the whole month she was held captive! She was only an innocent civilian! She wasn't even from this place! What kind of person would do something like this? _I'm going to kill that man!_

Sasuke thought killing Orochimaru was a necessity on his list. Now seeing his best friend the way she was, he knew it was not only that. He was going to murder that bastard with a smirk on his face and no doubt in his heart. He was going to get his revenge for what he had done to Katy.

Orochimaru was certainly going to pay. Sasuke swore on it.

* * *

So there's the chapter! Sorry if it's late. My beta actually reviewed it for me but I never got around to posting. Busy, weird week for me. I live in California so this time of year so I have stupid STAR testing. Worst things ever. The only point of this thing is to get funding for my school which is a charter school by the way (if you don't know what a charter school is, look it up). Also, it's one of the top schools in the country so there's pressure on getting money for the school. That means I can't screw up like I usually do. And with projects being pounded into me and a show coming up, I'm as busy as a bee.

Oh, and thanks to my beta for mentioning a new book series to me! It's called Maximum Ride. I'm in freaking love with that series! It AH-MAZ-ING! It's reminding me of Katy a bit-I did not steal that from this series as I have never read it before making this. Now I have and I'm in love! I already finished the second book when I only heard about it last weekend. The one thing I hate though is the super short chapters. I mean, come on. 1-3 pages a chapter? How lame is that? Because of that, there's over four hundred pages which I got through in, like, a few hours. But overall, I like the book. I just wonder how it ends...

Well, anyway, please review!

-Twilit Angel

P.S. Pick which movie is better to watch: Lady in the water or The Happening? Both are movies of M. Night. Shyamalan.


	28. Plans

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 28

"Thank you for coming! Have a nice day!" Katy bid goodbye to a customer. She was in the dango shop, giving a customer their bill and receiving their money. Cleaning up the table, she pocketed a tip left for her bringing a smile to her face

_Yes! At this rate I'll be able to have enough money for a new outfit_, The girl mentally squealed. Her old outfit was gone thanks to Kabuto's ignorance of clothes removal. So now she had to get a new one. _But I kind of liked my old outfit. It was my favorite._

She sighed and went back to work.

Five days have passed since the funeral of the Hokage. The village and its everyday life were slowly getting back to normal, save for the no Hokage part. Both civilians and ninja alike were all busy fixing any damage made on the buildings during the attack. Because of this, ninja were not given missions at the present time. This was good news for Sasuke. He could get some training in the meantime.

Katy herself didn't mind this at all. She let Sasuke go train while she tried to get back to her daily life. After being gone for an entire month, she welcomed the prospect of work with open arms. Both of her employers didn't mind her sudden enthusiasm to work. After all, both employers were actually worried about her and glad to see her back. Sumi punched her in the head for suddenly disappearing and for worrying Anko, then hugged her for coming back safely. Tsubaki only gave her a lecture and a bone-crushing hug. Katy apologized to both of them for being so long and promised to make it up to them. That was why she was here now in the dango shop, despite having injuries.

As she worked hard, she mentally counted how much money she had checking to see if she had enough. The day after the funeral, she scrubbed her entire body of any weird substances since she didn't have a bath for about a month. The moment she was sparkling clean, she was perplexed at the color her hair adopted. The usual brilliant red-orange color with vivid pink highlights had faded down to an inky ebony color. She was astounded at this. Her dyed hair went back to normal, save for the bangs that framed her face. Her hair was not that outrageous color that most of the ninja believe. Because of her pacific islander descent, her hair was originally the dark color it was now. It was like that for most of her life until she decided to dye it last year. Katy didn't understand how all of the dye-most of it anyway-could have come out. Maybe it was all that vat of weird chemicals the Sound ninja pushed her into once that made the dye dissipate. That was a mystery for another time, she supposed.

_Let's see…I have enough money and a little more for at least two new outfits,_ Katy calculated. She frowned into the dish water as she placed dirty dishes into a sink. Then she held her tray close and headed back out into the dining area. _I only need one outfit. Well, I guess I can get new clothes for either Haku or Sasuke. Sasuke needs new ones since his old clothes were torn apart while he was training and I don't like his new ones. But I want to get Haku new clothes because he doesn't seem to prefer any of Sasuke's (_He's been borrowing his clothes for awhile)_. Not to mention, he seems to like cross-dressing a bit._

She couldn't help but giggle. Katy knew that Haku liked dressing up as a girl sometimes. He had the feminine looks for it. She could easily tell because once when they were grocery shopping, she saw Haku sneak looks at windows with clothes meant for girls. This was cute to her. Haku must have liked cross-dressing even if he would never admit it. He must have stopped that when moving to Konoha for some reason. It wasn't because people would think he was gay, which he wasn't. It was probably something else. Katy didn't know what it was, but sooner or later she would. After all, Haku was like a brother to her after they started living together.

_I'll ask Haku what he wants later. He'll like new clothes, I guess._

The sound of a bell chiming snapped Katy out of her thoughts. Dazed, she looked around from her spot by the back door to see a strange sight. Two men entered the restaurant and seated themselves at a table. Katy thought they were strange not because of how they kept their conical tipped hats on, but because of their clothes. One man was taller than the other and had a bandaged wrapped sword leaning against his bench. The other, Katy couldn't tell much about him. The one thing she noticed?

Both men wore black cloaks with a red cloud pattern

_Uh-oh_.Katy swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Her heart began to beat erratically at the mere sight of them, her mind at a loss. _How can they be here already? It's only been a few days since the Hokage died! I can't tell Sasuke they're here. Otherwise, well, I don't know. Sasuke knows so he wouldn't fight. Then what about Naruto?_

Sasuke already knew about the massacre and didn't blame Itachi at all. That meant he wasn't going to fight him. That didn't worry Katy at all. It was only where they were after Naruto was what worried her. If Sasuke hadn't come in, Naruto would have been captured. Now if Sasuke didn't go after Itachi, Naruto was doomed.

She sighed, walking over to the two. She would have to do something to help out Naruto. He was her friend and she would not let him get hurt. Even if it was by a character she liked. Katy went up to the table and smiled gently.

"Welcome! What would you two like today?"

"Two dango and two cups of tea, please," the taller man with the sword ordered. Katy couldn't see his face because of the hat and high collar of his cloak.

"Okay, coming right up!" Katy bowed before heading into the kitchen for the order. Since it was only those two in the shop that day, she didn't need to write it down. She knew it. She told the cook the order.

"Ah, Katy-san?" Katy turned around to see Tsubaki who called her name. "After you serve your current customers, you may go."

Katy was stunned for a second, then blinked.

"What? Tsubaki-san, I haven't even finished my shift yet."

"I know, I know. But I'm worried about you," she said with a kind smile. "Forgive this old woman for worrying you, but you seem fatigued. You are my youngest employee and you have only recently returned. You body seems to not be taking the stress well."

Now that she mentioned it, Katy has been feeling tired lately. Her body may be abnormally healing faster from all her injuries from her kidnapping, but she was still exhausted. Katy could only wonder was how Tsubaki knew. She's been hiding her exhaustion pretty well so far. Maybe it was just women's intuition.

"I don't know…"

"Oh, just take it. Aikiko has also volunteered to take the rest of your shift. She, as well, sees you need the rest. Take the rest of the day off."

"Aikiko, too?" Aikiko was the waitress that helped Katy get this job. She also helped Katy through her first few work days in the beginning. She actually saw Katy as her _kouhai _now that they were working together. Katy chewed her bottom lip. She didn't want to leave before her shift ended, but if they wanted her to go she could. "Well, I guess I will. If you and Aikiko-senpai insist so."

"I'm glad to hear that. Take care, all right?"

She nodded. "I will."

With a firm nod, Tsubaki left the kitchen. Katy went back to work as well. She grabbed the tray that had the customer's orders and headed outside again. Walking over to the table with a smile, she greeted the men again.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Here's your orders."

"May we get the bill?" a monotone, calm voice asked. The voice came from the shorter of the two men.

"Of course, sir." She set down their food on the table, bowed, then went back into the kitchen. A couple seconds later, she came back with bill in hand. She set that down as well. "There you go."

"Hn." The shorter man grunted as he proceeded to take out the approximate amount of money. At the grunt, Katy couldn't help but giggle. She knew the man said, "All right." The two men stared at her as she giggled, her hand in front of her mouth girlishly.

"S-Sorry," Katy said through her giggle. "But you sound like my best friend."

"Really? How so?" the taller man asked, amused.

"My best friend says 'hn' all the time and isn't much of a talker. When he said that at first, I barely understood him until I got to know him more. It's funny because I know what your friend meant."

"Hn." The shorter grunted, obviously irritated.

Katy translated that to, "_Okay, already. Just take the money and go away."_ She could only tell because he sounded irritated and slid the money towards her. She sighed and picked up the money.

"All right, all right. I'll go away now. Have a nice day." She bowed politely and walked away. She paused for a second and looked over her shoulder to the shorter man. "By the way, cool nail polish. Purple _totally_ says you're badass." She turned and finally walked away, silently laughing at the feel of a glare at her back. She also heard the snickering-turned-cough from his friend.

_Haha! Oh, yeah. His personality is _exactly _like Sasuke's,_ Katy laughed once entering the kitchen. This earned her a few stares from the cooks. _If he's like Sasuke, then I can read him like a book. He's even cuter in real life, too. I wonder if Sasuke's going to tell him? I hope he does. That way he might get to stay in Konoha. Then I can stare at him all day long._

Katy hasn't read a _Naruto_ manga that involved Itachi for months. She has been waiting for this day to come ever since they arrived here. Now if only she could get close to him without him killing her…

She began to plot ways to how she could get close to Itachi as she passed into the back where the money bow was located. She absentmindedly put the money in before gathering all her things. The last thing she did was remove the apron around her waist and left through the kitchen door. She did not even notice that she passed by the earlier table until she heard three voices conversing near the entrance. One voice she knew in particular.

"I'm just here to meet with Sasuke is all," Katy heard Kakashi say. She poked her head outside to see Kakashi leaning against the shop wall near the open entrance. He was speaking to two other people; a man and a woman. The man had dark hair and a beard framing his jawline. In his mouth was a cigarette. The woman also had long dark hair that cascaded down her back. The only noticeable thing about her were her crimson red eyes. Both had the Konoha hitai-ate around their foreheads.

The three turned their eyes to her as she appeared. This made Katy uneasy. She bowed her head to Kakashi. "Hello, Kakashi."

Kakashi blinked in surprise before smiling behind his mask.

"Hello, Katy. Did you come here to get something to eat as well?" he asked.

"No. Actually, I work here," she told him.

He nodded, his eye glancing behind her at the table where those strange men sat. "I see. I didn't know that."

"Kakashi, who is this?" the woman asked in curiosity.

"Hm? Oh, this is Katy. She's one of my student's friends and a past client." He waved a hand to the two. "Katy, this is Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi. Both of them are jonin sensei like myself."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yuhi-san and Sarutobi-san," Katy greeted, politely bowing at the waist.

"You too, Katy," Asuma said. "And you know you don't have to call us by our last names. Just use our first, got it?"

She nodded.

"Katy…" Kurenai said in a thoughtful tone. She was studying Katy with a critical eye. "Aren't you that girl Anko was worrying about for an entire month? She said you disappeared last month."

"Yes, I guess. I need to see her before she freaks out or something." She sighed. Anko would do that. Katy had to reassure her that she was fine by showing her. Anko was the type that had to see before she believed. She stood up straighter when feeling something strange approaching them. She smiled and instinctively swerved to her left to go attach herself to what she believed to be a chakra signature. That ended up knocking them both to the ground. "Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke grunted from lying underneath Katy's weight. He sighed in annoyance when she snuggled into the crook of his neck.

"I missed you, Sasuke-kun!" Katy squealed, much like Sakura used to.

"It's only been a few hours. Now, get off of me!" Sasuke snapped.

Katy pouted for a good second and lifted herself off of him. Haku, who came with Sasuke to that location, smiled when Sasuke stood to his feet, scowling. "God, Katy. Are you getting fat or something? It felt like I was hit by a rock boulder."

She gasped in mock hurt, putting a hand to her chest dramatically.

"Why, Sasuke! I felt like a rock to you? Me, a girl who's weight is less than your own? Sasuke, your not an anorexic, are you? That would explain everything. I think you need to get help soon, or you'll never get through this problem of yours."

"Me, anorexic?" He scoffed. "I wouldn't need that to keep this appearance. Even if I was, you'd still look like a stick figure."

"Are you calling me a stick figure, Uchiha?" Katy growled.

"I'm not calling you one. You _are_ one."

"Hey! That's low, even by your standards!"

"You have standards? Since when?" he asked in mock surprise.

"Okay, that's so uncalled for!"

Sasuke shrugged, one corner of his lips twitching upward. "Whatever."

He walked away to go speak to Kakashi.

"Hey! Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!" Katy groaned in frustration. Sasuke didn't even bother to turn around. She stuck out her lower lip and folded her arms. Then she faced Haku. "Haku, Sasuke's being mean to me."

Haku laughed, patting her shoulder in sympathy. "I'm sorry to heard that, Katy-chan." He grinned mischievously. The way he did that reminded her of Naruto when he is up to no good. "But we could always punish him later."

"Haku…" Katy felt a shiver go up her spine. The way he sounded was exactly like Naruto when he's planning on pranking someone. It was kind of creepy. "Have you been hanging out with Naruto lately?"

He blinked in confusion. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." She didn't want to talk about how Naruto was influencing the innocent Haku when it came to revenge. They were going to have a long discussion about that. What they didn't need was another prankster in the village. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to meet with Kakashi," Haku explained. "He promised Sasuke he would teach him a new jutsu. After this, we're going to train. I'll be learning a new jutsu as well."

"Really? That's really cool! I hope you use it to kick Sasuke's butt. He needs a good butt kicking," she whispered the last part to him.

He giggled much like a girl would.

"I better not have heard you saying I need my ass kicked, Rivera," Sasuke said. He overheard what she said above what Kakashi was saying and wasn't happy with that.

She shook her head. "Nope! You're mishearing things."

Katy walked over to where Kakashi and Sasuke were with Haku right behind her. She noticed that Asuma and Kurenai were missing.

"Where did Asuma-san and Kurenai-san go?" she asked.

"They had to go do something for me," Kakashi said.

"I see." She nodded, knowing the real reason where those two ran off to. There was a hope in her that wished Sasuke wouldn't find out they were already at the reappearance of Itachi part.

"Oi._ What are you so fidgety about?"_ Sasuke asked. He noticed the subtle way she kept glancing at the direction of the restaurant as if looking for someone. "_What are you looking at?"_

"_N-Nothing!"_ Katy stuttered. Sasuke was observant; a trait that she disliked the most about him. When they were younger he was always too observant. It freaked her out how he noticed things she would never herself see. Did he know about what she knew yet?

He narrowed his eyes. "_Yeah, right. Kaitlyn Rivera, I know you're hiding something. You better tell me or else."_

"Um…" She glanced at Haku and Kakashi. They were in deep conversation about which water jutsu would be the best use in battle. They wouldn't pay attention to what they were talking about, or so she hoped. But should she tell Sasuke the truth? After all, this was his brother they were talking about here. He hasn't even seen his brother for five years, nor could he remember him. Maybe it was best if she did tell him regardless of what would happen. They already messed with the timeline. Might as well as screw it up even more.

Sasuke watched Katy bit her lip. A few emotions flashed across her eyes such as anxiousness and doubt. Finally, after a few seconds, she lifted her eyes to his.

"_Sasuke, I don't know how to tell you this, but…"_ Katy sighed, dejected. "_Weasel's returned with Jaws."_

He wrinkled his forehead. When they use the words 'weasel' and 'Jaws' in the same sentence they're referring to two particular people: Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Sasuke was partly doubtful of this new information. How could they already be here? It's only been five days since the Hokage died. "Wait, you don't mean…?"

"_Yup. They're back. Now, I understand if you don't want to chase after your brother-"_

"_We need a better way to save the deadlast,"_ he suddenly said.

"-_because you know-Wait, say what?"_ She stared at him in shock. That wasn't the response she was expecting. "_You want to save him from your brother?"_

He nodded.

"_Why? I thought you wouldn't want to fight your brother?"_

"_I don't but the Red Dawn organization is too much of a threat. The deadlast _can't_ be captured this early."_ Sasuke was cautious to remember not to use the name 'Akatsuki.' As much as he hated it, he knew these words were true. Naruto, much to his annoyance, was the main hero of the story. He couldn't be allowed to get himself captured, sealed, and killed this early on. It would be the end of the shinobi world as they knew it. So Sasuke had to suck up the courage to fight Itachi and protect his annoying-as-hell teammate.

Katy scratched her head and said, "_I guess you're right. Now all we need is a plan. Any ideas how we're going to do that?"_

He was silent. That was something he still had to think through. Later today would be the time the Akatsuki would go after Naruto. That wasn't a lot of time to come up with a decent plan and put it into action. What exactly could they do within that time span?

A loud grumbling sound made him snap out of it. He turned to the source of the noise. Katy flushed and rubbed her head while holding her stomach.

"Hehe. My bad. I didn't have lunch yet."

"That's alright. Would you like to join us for lunch? We're eating here," Kakashi offered. He heard the noise as well.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather not. I'm not in the mood for sweets, especially when I'm around them all day."

"Okay. It's understandable."

"Where are you going to eat, then?" Haku asked.

Katy tapped her chin in thought. "Well, I'm in the mood for ramen."

"If you want ramen, try the ones at Ichiraku's. They make the best ramen in the village," Kakashi recommended. "You'll probably see Naruto there as well. He goes there all the time."

An idea suddenly popped into her head as she remembered something important. She grinned.

"Good idea. Thanks for the suggestion!" she said.

"No problem."

Katy turned to the direction of where Ichiraku's would be. As she left, Sasuke couldn't help but notice a mysterious smile on her face before she disappeared into the crowd. That smile left him with a bad, foreboding feeling…

It didn't take very long before Katy reached her destination.

She stood in front of a quaint little stand. Compared to the stands next to it, it was fairly small. It was almost like a bar. However, it wasn't a bar by what she could smell wafting outside. To her, it smelled much like her mother's cooking when the cooked chicken, beef, and broth came her way. Oh, how she loved the smell of cooked food. This prompted her to walk into the stand. Inside, it was just like how it seemed outside. It might have been small, but it was comfortable enough.

Katy stood behind the bar-like counter with the stools for seats. Not many people were inside, save for three. A kindly faced man stood behind the counter. She could tell he was the chef, because he seemed like the type to treat his customers with care. Right beside him was a young woman with long chestnut hair pulled back by a bandana like she did. The only customer inside at the moment happened to be Naruto. He was slurping down noodles like there was no tomorrow.

The old man noticed her enter and gave a kind smile. "Welcome! You must be a new customer. I haven't seen your face around, so you must be."

Katy flushed, grinning. "I-I guess."

Naruto paused in his scarfing down and glanced over his shoulder. His eyes held surprise upon seeing Katy.

"Katy-chan? What're you doing here?" he asked, his mouth incredibly full of noodles.

"I heard about this ramen stand and I decided to eat here for lunch. And swallow your food before you talk, Naruto!" Katy was disgusted at how noodles were hanging out of his mouth. She sat on the stool next to him, shaking her head.

Naruto chewed up his ramen and swallowed. His mouth was free to talk with ease.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Is this a friend of yours, Naruto?" the girl behind the bar asked. There was a strange twinkle in here eyes. "Or is she your girlfriend? She's cute enough to be."

Both kids flushed red at the comment. This made the girl laugh.

"N-No! That's not it at all!" Naruto exclaimed. "Katy-chan's just a friend. Besides, Sasuke-teme would kill me even if we were dating." He shuddered at the thought. Sasuke could be so overprotective of Katy, it wasn't even funny to joke about. He shook all thoughts of Sasuke killing him in the most brutal ways and grinned at Katy. "Katy-chan, meet old man Ichiraku and his daughter, Ayame! The old man makes the best ramen in the world!"

"The best ramen, huh? I wouldn't mind giving it a try. Could I please have some?" Katy politely asked.

"Of course you can. What would you like?" Ichiraku asked.

"Beef would be nice."

"Alright, coming right up!" He turned back to his stove and began making the broth. Ayame started making the noodles.

As they worked, Katy and Naruto started some small talk. Katy told Naruto some of the times she would prank Sasuke whenever he was mean to her. Naruto also told her of all of his pranking achievements such as the graffiti on the Hokage monument. He also recalled a time when he splattered purple pain all over a group of jonin during a meeting they had. She laughed at these pranks. These achievements were something she loved about Naruto. At least _he_ had a sense of humor in this completely serious place.

A few minutes later, her order was read.

"Here ya go." Ichiraku set down a steaming bowl of ramen in front of her.

Katy took in a deep breath of the wonderful smell emitting from the bowl in front of her. She sighed deeply. "Wow! Smells great."

She reached over for a set of chopsticks. Believe it or not, she now knew how to use chopsticks. Haku taught both her and Sasuke how to after finding out they didn't know how. This was a lifesaver, because this meant Katy didn't have to cook all the time anymore.

"It'll taste great, too," Naruto said. He went back to eating his food after the old chef gave him more noodles on the house.

"If you say so." Katy shrugged and used her chopsticks to bring the noodles to her mouth. Blowing on it first to cool it down, she put them in her mouth. Her eyes went wide, sparkling. "I think…I'm in love!"

She started to devour her ramen much like Naruto would, but in a more clean way. Oh, dear god. This was the best ramen she's ever tasted! Actually, this was the best ramen she's had in her whole life! Instant noodles paled in comparison to these freshly homemade ones!

"I think that's the first time I've ever gotten a reaction to my food like that," Ichiraku laughed.

"This is the best ramen I've ever had!" Katy managed to say, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"Told you so!" Naruto said. He continued to eat. Katy did the same.

"So the rumours are true. You practically _do_ live on ramen!" a cheerful, deep voice said behind them.

Both of them paused in their dining. Katy managed to swallow the food in her mouth while Naruto had noodles sticking out again. They turned in their seats to see a man there. He looked to be in his forties or fifties by his long, uncontrollable white mane of hair. He was also dressed in red traditional clothes. Katy found it strange there were these red streaks that went from the bottom of his eyes and descended down to his cheeks. They looked like red tearstain tracks.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto muffled through his food. He spewed ramen noodles in the process. Katy grimaced in disgust. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you. I have something important to tell you." The man entered the stand and took a seat on Naruto's other side. He glanced over at Katy, who was staring at him with wide eyes. "But before that, who's that cute girl beside you? Is she your girlfriend?"

"No! Why does everyone keep saying that! We're just friends!"

The girl sighed, thinking the same thing. She may have thought Naruto was cute and, to both her pleasure and distress, even hot when he's older. But she couldn't see him as more than a friend. She didn't like him like that. "My name's Katy Rivera, sir. Who might you be?"

"Me? I'm the great toad sage, Jiraiya!" the man proclaimed with a proud grin. "A pleasure to meet you, Katy-chan."

"Likewise."

"What were you going to tell me, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked, finishing off his noodles. All was left in his bowl was the broth.

Jiraiya sighed at his nickname. Katy giggled at the title.

"Kid, how many times have I told you not to call me that? It's demeaning," he said.

The blonde snorted in response. "Yeah, right. It fits since you write that perverted trash you call a series," he snidely remarked.

"It's not perverted! It's my research!"

"Research my ass! All you do is spy on girls!"

"Can we not talk about this while I'm eating? I'm going to lose my appetite and if I don't eat, I'm going to get pissed," Katy calmly said. There was a dangerous tone lining her words that made Naruto wince. She reminded him of Sasuke when she sounded like that. It didn't even seem like she noticed that yet.

"Right. We mustn't discuss such things in front of a lady," Jiraiya said, nodding. Then he muttered under his breath, "They usually tend to get violent if this subject comes up."

"Damn straight." Katy ate the last of her noodles and started sipping the broth. "So what's so important that you need to talk to Naruto about?"

"I need Naruto to come with me on a trip. I have to go look for a woman for something."

"What! I don't want to go on a trip with you! And to find some woman!" Naruto yelled in protest. It was always girls with this guy. He was such a perverted old man! No wonder he had no love life!

"Too bad. You're coming with me whether you like it or not. Our first stop would be the outpost town near here."

Jiraiya got up and left the stand without another word.

Naruto was having none of that. He stood up and went after him. A coupon rested on the counter, showing why he neglected to pay. Katy wanted to go after him, so she paid for her meal and thanked Ichiraku and Ayame. She quickly left the stand to go follow the blonde. It wasn't hard to find him since he only went a block away. He was with Jiraiya, who was trying to convince him to come.

"Naruto!" She called, approaching the two.

Jiraiya glanced at her and then suddenly grinned.

"How about this? Your little friend could come with us. I'm sure she wouldn't mind coming along," he said, pointing to her.

Katy paused when in hearing range. She only heard that part and not before. She didn't know what to think of it while Naruto gaped at Jiraiya.

"What? Why Katy-chan!" He yelled. "She doesn't need to come! Even if, she would never go. She never leaves Sasuke's side. Sasuke's like an overprotective brother. Katy-chan would do anything for him since they're so close!"

"Okay, _what?_" Katy came over with her hands on her hips, glare blasting at the blonde. He shrunk back at the intensity of her reddish muddy eyes. "I don't do _everything_ Sasuke tells me to do. I barely even listen to him. The only times I ever do listen is when something serious is happening. And I can, too, leave Sasuke's side! It's not like I'm super glued to the boy. I'm going with you just to prove that fact!"

Jiraiya nodded in approval. "See? She wants to go. Why don't you come, too?"

"Because!" The orange clad boy sighed in frustration. "I want Kakashi-sensei to teach me Chidori. I don't have time to go look for some woman!"

Jiraiya frowned and turned his back on the two kids, a light tone in his voice. "Oh, well. I actually know a technique that makes the Chidori look like kid stuff, too." He sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll go ask Sasuke to come instead-"

Naruto's ears perked up at the news of a new technique. He ran in front of Jiraiya with a huge grin on his face. "Wait, wait! I'll go! Katy-chan can come along, too! I'm going to get my things ready. Just don't leave without us, okay, Ero-sennin?"

Before either Jiraiya or Katy could answer, Naruto ran off down the street. He was probably heading home.

The remaining two just stood and stared, before the white haired man let of a chuckle. "That kid…You can't help but like him."

Katy smiled and nodded. "He's cute when he's like that. Well, I guess I'll go pack, too, seeing as how I'm going. Thank you for bringing me along, Jiraiya-san,"

"It's no problem. Besides," he grinned down at her," I need someone to help keep me sane. Who knows how long we'll be stuck with him?"

She nodded. Naruto tended to get on people's nerves if near him for too long. But that was what she loved about him in a brotherly sense.

Katy bid goodbye to Jiraiya so that she could go home and back. She quickly set off for home. Nothing could bring her down about this, not even Sasuke. The truth was, she planned for this to happen. She remembered the Ichiraku scene the two had and thought of a way to help out Naruto. But only for a little while until Sasuke came to the rescue. She was going to have to leave a note or something about him coming earlier to go. They weren't sure of the approximate time the Akatsuki would officially meet Naruto. If she came along, she could distract them enough to go get some help. Hopefully.

The girl was determined to try and protect Naruto whether he knew it or not.

* * *

Hey there, everyone! After weeks of not updating, I finally am! Stupid summer and school made me lazy to update.

Ugh, I don't even want to talk very much right now. My new puppy is sapping the energy out of me (she's so hyper!) and summer makes me tired. I'm just gonna cut this short, all right?

Oh, and I'm wondering something about the name Tsubaki. My beta told me that Tsubaki is a male name. But I actually got the name off of a list of Japanese names to name girls (I did the same thing with Hitomi from my other story). So is the name a girl name or a guy name? So confusing. Can someone clear this up for me?

Please review!

-Twilit Angel


	29. Escape plan

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 29

**It was already late at night when Sasuke arrived back at the compound. He made a mad dash towards the home, the full moon lighting his every move. He was so late. His mother was going to furious when he promised to be back before dark. It was already dark with the moon high in the sky. He glanced up to see how high the moon was when he saw something strange.**

**On top of an electrical pole, there was someone crouching there. Red eyes pierced through the dark, though nothing else was visible. He blinked for a second, but that seemed to be for too long, as the eyes vanished.**

**_What...was that?_ Sasuke frowned. Did he just imagine someone there? No. He could've sworn someone was there. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him. He was rather tired from practice. _If so, then why...__Why do I fell like something happened? Something...bad?_ He shook off the feeling. It was probably nothing.**

**The boy pushed the feeling to the back of his mind and turned the corner of the street. He froze upon doing so, his feet planting firmly to the ground at the horrible sight before him. Bodies were lying all over the street, some in awkward positions like they fell where they stood. Blood pooled around the bodies, even splattered across the walls and ground. Horror and shock filled his body as something donned on him. They were his family.**

**"Wh-What's going on? What happened?" Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes. They couldn't be dead, could they? How...How did this happen? His whole family...gone? It was true no matter how many times he told himself it wasn't. They were dead. If the people on this street were dead, what about the ones still in their homes? How many of them were still alive? Who else could be alive? A foreboding feeling made itself known as he thought of three other people. "Oh, no! Father, mother, and Nii-san!"**

**After thinking of those three, he raced home as fast as his short legs could take him. Silently, he was prying to the gods that they weren't dead like their relatives killed on these streets. He knew that his own family could hold their own in a fight. His father was the captain of the Konoha police force, his mother a former jonin, and his brother an ANBU captain. There was no way they could die so easily. He just hoped they didn't.**

**It felt like hours before Sasuke reached his home. He hurried into the house, taking his shoes off at the front and leaving his bag and then ran into the halls. The kitchen was his first stop to check if his mother was there. She wasn't. The kitchen was dark and empty.**

**"Wh-Where is everyone?" he wondered aloud. He went to go search another room when a loud thump sounded somewhere in the house. The noise startled him for a split second. He ran off towards the source of it. Somewhere deep down in his mind he knew it was a bad idea to go to the source of the noise. What if the killer was there? But he had to see. His mother and father could get hurt or worse killed! So he ran to the noise until he found himself standing outside the doors that lead to the dojo room.**

**Sasuke felt his heart pound against his chest like it wanted to break out. He took a long, deep breath. His voice rattled as it did so. He knew that behind the door might make him face things he wouldn't want to see. A horrible feeling filled him just by looking at the wooden double doors. All he had to do was open it to find out. He lifted his hands up to the door handles with great effort, his whole body shaking. He couldn't stop! Once his fingers grasped the metal, he slowly pushed open the doors. The doors were only partially open when a horrifying sight met his wide, terrified eyes. One that would forever haunt him.**

"Sasuke, wake up!"

* * *

Sasuke groaned at the loud voice calling from nearby. It was enough to break him out of dreamland. The effect of sleep still held him in its grasp as he tried to figure out why he woke up. The only way he did know he was awake were the ache in his bones and the taste of dirt in his mouth. He opened his eyes and sat up whilst spitting the unusual taste out. Out of the corners of his eyes, Haku was snickering. He shot a glare at the boy, wiping his mouth. It was futile to try and get rid of the dirt; it wouldn't go away anytime soon. He also tried to remember what he was last doing.

He and Haku were in one of the training fields spread throughout Konoha to practice their techniques. Haku was trying out a new water jutsu he learned about from a scroll. Sasuke was trying to improve his chakra reserves by using his Chidori. After failing to protect himself by forcing out a Chidori during the fight with Gaara, he felt like he needed to improve that. How could he protect anyone-much less himself- with a two shot chance using the Chidori? That wasn't enough. He needed more power in order to protect his friends-more specifically, Katy. He wasn't even around when Katy was kidnapped. That resulted in her getting hurt, which he couldn't stand for. The Uchiha promised himself that he would protect Katy, yet he failed. There was only one way he could make up for that. Killing Orochimaru, who caused her pain in the first place.

Sasuke glanced around the area. To put it short, it looked like an earthquake and a tsunami just hit. Where there had been rock faces were nothing but piles of rocks and the ground had holes where he accidentally hit the ground with the jutsu. Not only that, most of the area was covered with water where Haku used the element needed for his jutsu from a nearby pond. Only then did he notice that he sat in one of the holes in the ground. Haku stood at the edge of the hole, brushing long haira over his shoulder much like a girl would. He guessed he must have passed out from using Chidori too much.

"What, Haku?" Sasuke all but growled. Even if Haku just saved him from what could turn to be a nightmare, he wanted to see what shocked him so much in the dream.

"I just remembered I need to go back home to get something," He replied, brushing his hair back again. It was down that day so it kept getting in his face. Maybe he should have tied it back.

"What do you need to get?"

"I borrowed something from Kakashi. I forgot I told him I would return it to him today. He also told me I could just drop it off at his apartment."

"Why can't you go by yourself?" The Uchiha was beginning to feel agitated. He hated being woke up for something as stupid as this. All he wanted was sleep, damn it!

"I don't know where Kakashi lives," he replied, smiling innocently. "Can you show me where he lives, please?"

Sasuke grumbled in frustration. Why should he go show him where Kakashi lived? The only reason he knew where their teacher lived was because they-as in he and Kakashi-had to go to that place in order to get supplies for their training month. They ran out of things and had to go to Kakashi's apartment for things like food. But if he wanted to get Haku off his back he would have to reluctantly show him where their teacher lived.

He stood to his feet, scowling. "Whatever you're getting better be important."

"It is. I need to return a genjutsu scroll he lent to me. I simply forgot it at home when we left the house this morning."

Sasuke grunted. He hardly cared what it was. As long as he gave it back it was fine.

* * *

The two boys exited the devastated training field and entered the town. They weaved through the semi-crowded streets where construction workers were busy rebuilding damaged buildings. There were quite a few of them, Sasuke noticed. They walked in a comfortable silence the entire way back to the Uchiha compound. Everyone knew that the Uchiha could be a tad touchy when awakened from his peaceful slumber. Actually, he debated with himself on whether to awaken him earlier after seeing him fall asleep. He was lucky not to have been punched in the face or cursed at as he usually does in the mornings. Guess it was easier to wake him up from naps than a full eight hour sleep.

It took half an hour to get into the Uchiha compound-surprisingly in one piece after the attack-and back to their home. Haku immediately went straight for his room while Sasuke went into the kitchen for a snack. All that training made him hungry again. He went straight for the fridge to get some fruit. Something hanging on the door of the refrigerator caught his eye. Stopping his previous action, he eyed the brightly coloured paper being held by a chibi fox magnet. He instantly recognized the neat handwriting as Katy's in English.

_Sasuke,_

_Went with Jiraiya and Naruto out of town on journey to get Tsunade as Hokage. Going to protect Naruto as best as I can from evil/good Itachi. Get to outpost town where Inn is before he comes._

_Love, Katy_

_P.S. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE TO GET HERE WHEN GETTING THIS NOTE!_

Sasuke stared at the note and read the note again and again. At first he wasn't sure what to make of it. Was Katy kidding? Even she wasn't as idiotic as to do something as this. Itachi Uchiha was dangerous in his own right. He was on a level far out of reach for most normal ninjas. Katy couldn't protect Naruto as best as she could since she barely had ninja skills.

That's when it all clicked.

Dark grey eyes widened for a fraction. He swerved around and bolted out of the kitchen to go back to the front door. Haku might have heard his quick stomps on the ground. He didn't know and didn't care. All that mattered was getting his shoes on and rushing out of the village gates.

_That idiot! What the fuck is she __thinking!_ Sasuke raged in his thoughts. Was Katy that stupid? No, wait. He shouldn't ask that when he knew the truth. She was completely insane to think _she_ of all people could help protect Naruto from his older brother. Did she not comprehend the fact she wasn't even a ninja in the first place? She didn't even know how to use chakra! Well, he wouldn't know what with the whole 'experiment by Orochimaru.' But this was completely out of her league! _I'm going to kill her when I find her!_

This, he would do _after_ he saved her and Naruto from the current situation. By what the note said, they would stop in that outpost town not too far from the village. With his speed he could get there in half the time they did. Hopefully, he would get there before Itachi.

_Hang on, Naruto and Katy. Let's just hope I'm not too late,_ Sasuke prayed. He zoomed past the village gates with sights set on the outpost town.

* * *

xxxxxxx

* * *

"What a weird town," Naruto commented. He, Katy, and Jiraiya arrived at the outpost town Jiraiya told them about. They were going to rest here for the night. It was quite a strange town for there were people dressed in weird costumes and street performers. Right now, they stood in front of an inn where Jiraiya was checking them in. Both he and Katy stood at the entrance of the inn, which resembled a Japanese courtyard with a creek, a bridge over that, and lanterns hanging everywhere.

"I know," Katy agreed. She was staring around the entrance. The whole lobby was very homey to her. Kinda like the time her mother decided to try and add feung shui to their living room.

"Hey, you two. We're staying here for the night," said Jiraiya. He walked up to the two pre-teens, ready to give them their keys, when he noticed someone standing in front of them. His jaw dropped in shock. This made the kids curious and they followed his gaze. The sight made Naruto's mouth hang open while Katy wrinkled her nose in envy and disgust.

The someone that caught Jiraiya's attention happened to be a young woman. She was beautiful in every right what with her ebony black hair, glossy lips, unbelievable curves shown by her strapless purple dress and everything. The young woman seemed to notice them staring and flirtatiously brushed her hair over her shoulder. That made Jiraiya and Naruto drool while Katy seethed.

_Damn it! It's not fair! Why do girls like that_ always_ gets guys!_ Katy growled. It wasn't fair. Why do all the girls that are born beautiful always get the guys? She wanted to be as pretty as that, damn it! Truth be told, she wanted a boyfriend. She was approaching the stage in her life where she wanted guys to notice her as a girl, not as one of them. Guys would never notice her, through. She was too plain and ordinary. The complete opposite of the woman in front of them. She could never be _that_ beautiful even if she was older. _I wish, though. I want a guy to like me and notice me. I don't want to grow old and alone. I want a guy to like me like I'm a girl, not a guy._

"Naruto, Katy, you two go up to the room," Jiraiya suddenly said. He shoved the room keys into Katy's hand. "Naruto, go work on your chakra for your training today. Katy, you watch him."

"What?" the two exclaimed.

"Is this 'adult stuff?'" Katy scoffed, putting air quotes around the last part.

"You're just trying to get rid of us!" Naruto accused angrily.

"Both of you go now!" He made a shooing gesture before approaching the woman with what Katy thought was a charming smile.

The two shot a dark glare at the old man then headed up the stairs, muttering obscenities. It wasn't fair they were being pushed aside while he went to go 'play.' He was supposed to be looking for Tsunade, not playing with other women! The two were still seething by the time they reached their hotel room. The entered the room to find two beds and a bathroom. Katy figured she and Naruto would be sharing a bed while Jiraiya got the other. That was fine by her.

Naruto put down his things, took of his shoes, and sat on the bed crosslegged. He made a sign with his hands and started to concentrate his chakra. While he was doing that, Katy found a full length mirror and started to examine her reflection. She frowned at it. Instead of her usual outfit, she was wearing mismatched clothes she just found lying around the house. She had on a dark short sleeve shirt with a high collar and trademark Uchiha fan on the back as well as a pair of dark pants. The pants were too big on her so she had to wear a belt. What bothered her greatly was how skinny she was. Like any kid in America, she was a bit on the chubby on the stomach and waist because of the lack of exercise and all. But ever since she came here, she actually started eating healthier (to her surprise) and walking everywhere made her get the exercise she needed. It wasn't until she found herself starving for a month under the watch of Orochimaru did she realize how her body turned out. Now she was just skinny with her ribs almost showing. The shirt she had on was hanging off of her and slid down one shoulder. She would need a new outfit to get used to having a smaller size.

Katy sighed, turning away from the mirror. She shouldn't think about how skinny she was now. Who cared about how her body was now? It was completely superficial of her to think of her like that. Not to mention the scars on her body! She could think about this later. She plopped down on the other bed opposite Naruto where her things were. She sat crosslegged as well and grabbed her bag. She rummaged through it to pull out a drawing pad she thought to bring along and a pencil. Then she opened it to a blank page and glanced up at Naruto. He created a bunch of shadow clones and some of them were asleep. Katy thought a sleeping Naruto was cute and she started to sketch the sleeping clone.

Twenty minutes later, Katy put down her pencil and looked at her sketches with a smile. She has not only drawn a sleeping Naruto, but has also drawn a baby Naruto being held by his father, Minato Namikaze, as he sat in the Hokage office the night of the Kyuubi attack. She even drew a raging Kyuubi in the distance. Katy had no idea why she drew this. It just came to her. Another sketch was of Itachi and Sasuke in their younger days. The two brothers were sitting back-to-back. Itachi held a scroll in his hands, looking over his shoulder to a sleeping Sasuke, who held a stuffed weasel close to him. Itachi was smiling in the picture. Katy drew this one because of how Itachi was back. The sketch was cute and it reminded her of Itachi and Sasuke's baby pictures. She closed the drawing pad when a loud knock sounded on the door.

Katy and Naruto jumped at the sudden knock among their calm silence. Naruto quickly recovered and got up from his position. Katy stopped him.

"Naruto, I think we need to get out of here," she said.

He raised a questioning look. "Why?"

"Do you want to die a horrible death?"

"No."

"Then don't open the door."

The door itself was being pounded on relentlessly. Naruto stared at the door, then back at Katy. She stood from her spot on the bed and grabbed her things to stuff in her bag.

"What does opening the door have to do with a horrible death?" Naruto asked.

Katy cautiously tiptoed near the door to grab her shoes. By then, the knocks turned into pounds. She slowly reached over to her shoes and grabbed Naruto's while she was at it. She backed away slowly, eyes never leaving the door. At a safe distance she threw Naruto his shoes and grabbed Naruto's bag. He was right behind her as she did. He repeated his question.

"Naruto, there's a danger behind that door," she snapped. She pushed his bag into his hands roughly. "If we don't get out of here, we're dead."

He opened his mouth to ask another question, but one look at Katy and he snapped it. She was glaring at the door, eyes narrowed like it would break down at any minute. Who knows? The way she was looking at it made him think it would. So instead he asked a different question.

"Okay, if there's danger behind there, how do we leave? The door's the only way out of here."

"Is it?" Katy smiled, but in Naruto's mind it looked like she was smiling almost like Sasuke would. She moved over to the window and slid it open. Climbing out onto the small balcony outside the window, she looked back at him with expectancy. "Well? Are you just going to stand there? I need you to drop down first."

"Why?"

"Because unlike you, I don't have ninja skills. I'll die if I jump from this height and quit asking questions!"

Naruto knew then to keep his mouth shut. He knew by experience that girls were _never_ good when they were mad. So he slipped his bag on and jumped out the window down to the ground. He looked up at Katy to see her eye the ground uncertainly.

"Come on, Katy-chan! You're not afraid of heights, are you?" he asked in a teasing tone.

She blushed pink. "No! For your information, I happen to _like_ heights! I'm just scared you won't catch me."

"Have a little faith in me." He grinned reassuringly. "I'll make sure to catch you."

Katy nibbled on her lip. She was serious when she said she liked heights and all, but jumping down was still scary. The one thing she didn't want was a repeat of when she dropped down from that tree a few months ago. That was really scary. But one look at Naruto's face made her fear ebb away. She could trust him to catch her. He was her friend. She took a deep breath and almost stepped off the platform until a loud crash behind her stopped her. Whirling her head around, she could see the door was knocked off its hinges. Behind the door was a man wearing a black coat with red clouds; the same as the men she met in the restaurant earlier. Only the man had his hat off to reveal his long dark hair and red hypnotic eyes. Those eyes stared straight at her as their owner had a mask of no emotions. Katy froze under those eyes. Well, that was unexpected. She never pegged the guy as a violent man.

"Katy-chan! What was that?" Naruto yelled up. He, too, heard the crash.

"Um..." She closed her eyes to avoid eye contact with the man who resembled Sasuke far too much. Holding a breath, she stepped off and dropped down to Naruto below. The drop only took a second and she found arms wrapped around her. Cracking open her eyes, she saw Naruto's surprised face. Katy could see that his eyes were really blue up close, but turned away to look up at the window. She held her breath as that man poked his head out. "Start running, Naruto!"

"Huh?" He glanced up as well to see what spooked her so much and froze as well. It was surprising to see that the man in their hotel room looked so much like Sasuke. Hell, he even thought it was Sasuke! But those Sharingan eyes...So cold and merciless...Those weren't Sasuke's. Sasuke's Sharingan showed compassion and pride. This man's didn't reflect that. It was kind of scary. Then he saw the man jump out the window. Naruto finally knew what the danger Katy was talking about. So he ran with Katy still in his arms.

Naruto blindly ran through the town. Even with Katy's added weight, he ran as fast as he could, taking many twists and turns until he thought he was lost. It didn't matter. As long as they were away from that older Sasuke, he was fine they were lost. Katy also didn't care. Sure, it meant she couldn't meet her fangirl crush of all time, but if running meant her friend would be all right she was fine with it. However, she felt scared. They couldn't run forever. This town may have been strange and all. That didn't mean that man could find them in the blink of an eye. Hell, he could do it with the snap of his fingers! He was a _freaking skilled shinobi,_ damnit! Naruto was still a genin! Okay, a powerful genin, but that didn't mean he could outrun someone who killed his entire ninja family! She groaned, closing her eyes with her hands together in a prayer.

_Dear God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, _please_ let someone come and save us from this scary/attractive man! Like Jiraiya or someone!_

Katy would've thought God wouldn't have answered her prayers seeing as how he didn't seem to like her. For once in her life, he actually answered them in an odd way.

Naruto turned the corner of yet another unknown street. He only did so to bump into something hard and fall back on the ground. Katy, still in his arms, dropped out of his arms. She squeaked at the impact and expected to fall to the ground like Naruto had if not for someone else catching her. That was when Katy saw familiar dark eyes.

"Sasuke...?" Katy backed her head away to fully see Sasuke's face. She almost laughed at the astonishment he portrayed. Instead, she hugged him. "Thank God! I was afraid you weren't going to come. You saw my note, didn't you?"

Sasuke, once getting over the fact he accidentally caught Katy, scowled and let go of her. She fell to the ground hard. Katy rubbed her bottom and glanced up to tell him off for dropping her, only it died on her lips at his fury-filled face.

"Kaitlyn Marie Rivera! What the hell! Why in the world would you put yourself in danger _again_ just to protect the dobe? You fucking idiot!" He smacked her upside the head for even thinking of such a plan. She winced at contact.

"Ow! Jeez, I was just trying to help out. Besides," she stood to her feet while folding her arms, trying to look stern, "I didn't see _you_ have some sort of plan. I had to do something to help!"

"You..." Sasuke nearly growled. He wanted to do nothing more than hit Katy up the head. He held back, though, because a small part of him understood her need to protect her friends. After all, she didn't have many friends back home. This was the first time she truly had them. Of course she would want to protect them. He huffed and turned away from her. "We'll deal with this matter later. What were you guys running from?"

"Some guy at our hotel busted down our door. Katy-chan thought he was dangerous," Naruto replied. He stood up after recovering from being knocked down. He frowned, remembering the man and seeing Sasuke. "She was right, though. He _is_ dangerous. What's scary and confusing is this guy had the Sharingan. He even looked a bit like you, too, Teme. Do you know someone like that?"

"He should."

The three kids froze at the sudden baritone voice. Automatically, they all turned towards the voice. It was the man again. This time, he brought a friend with blue skin, dark hair, and a large bandage-wrapped sword on his back. The man was studying the three as if they would try something again. Not that they would; how could they escape from them this time? Upon seeing the man, Sasuke grabbed Katy and had her hide behind him. Naruto followed his example by standing next to him. They both brought out kunai to somehow protect themselves and intimidate their enemies. It had the opposite effect. It only served to amuse them.

The other man, the one who suspiciuosly resembled a fish or a shark, grinned and said to his partner, "Heh. They think they could protect themselves against us? How cute."

The first man said nothing, only studying the three.

Sasuke's thoughts went on overdrive. Now they were stuck in a bad situation. There were two of the Akatsuki and three of them. This would usually be good for their odds, but then again the fact they were S-ranked criminals was a doozy of a difference. They were nothing but genin! He and Naruto certainly couldn't take on those two and there was Katy to consider. She wasn't a shinobi at all. Should the two parties engage in a fight, the Akatsuki could use her as a hostage. There was only one man who could take on these men and he was somewhere in this town.

"Just who the hell are you two?" Naruto demanded. He didn't understand why they would come after him and Katy. How did they even know they were staying in that exact room in that inn?

"That is something you don't need to know. Come with us, Naruto," the first man ordered in the same cool tone Sasuke would use at times. All three nearly winced at how similar it sounded to the other Uchiha's.

"No! I don't know who you are or why you know my name, but I'm not going with someone who screams 'danger'!"

_Wow, for once Naruto makes sense._ Sasuke squashed that random thought before it could spread. Not the best time to be thinking that. They were in a life or death situation here. Need to focus.

"So the Kyuubi brat has a bark, huh? Think you can back that up with a bite?" the blue man said, grinning mockingly at the two less experienced ninja and one civilian. "What about you, little Sharingan user? Is your Sharingan as great as Itachi's?"

Sasuke narrowed his increasingly red eyes. He would say that yes, it was as great as his older brother's-maybe even more. Instead, he thought it best not to have Naruto, or anyone else for that matter, know that Itachi was his brother. It's not like he could fight against him, anyway. The older Uchiha was way out of his league. They needed Jiraiya to fight them. Neither he nor Naruto could handle these two on their own.

Katy bit her lip, glancing between Sasuke to Itachi to Naruto to the other man, Kisame. Oh, man. This was really bad. Even worse than during the Chunin Exams. Everything was out of her hands now. They didn't have the fight in the hallway like they were supposed to. She made Naruto run from their obvious location which is the first place Jiraiya would think of to find them once he knew what was going on. They were who knew where in this strange little town with no idea how to escape from two rogue ninja _that could kill them. _It was times like these that Katy wished she actually trained to be a ninja. At least she could help Naruto and Sasuke fight these guys. But no. She was ordinary, little Katy with no special powers or special training. All she had was her obsession with manga/anime series like _Naruto,_ and _D., _and even an old series like _Magic Kaito!_

Then it hit her.

She was suddenly struck with an idea that made her grin. _Magic Kaito _was one of her favourite series. It took place in modern Japan where everything was normal except for a certain thief named Kaito Kid going around and stealing priceless gems under the noses of the police. He humiliated the police on a daily basis with his fun tricks. How was he able to accomplish such a feat? There were his special skills as a magician to take into account. He would use smoke and mirrors to create illusions normally used to entertain crowds. That was how she knew what they could do.

"Hey, Sasuke," Katy said, catching the attention of everyone there. She was grinning wildly. "Remember how at that one time other than my usual anime crush, I was obsessed with another character named Kaito Kid?"

Sasuke stared at her over his shoulder strangely. "Yeah. That weird magician thief guy who wore white, a top hat and a monocle?"

"Uh-huh. That guy. Do you remember what his dad, the first Kaito Kid, said to him when he was really young?"

"He always said..." He wracked his brain for this really random question. God, he remembered that time. Katy was obsessed with this Kaito Kid guy before she fell for Itachi. He remembered her gushing about how supercool it would be to be a magician/thief and being swept away by him. There was one thing he always said that made Katy squeal. Something about a hand and a mask. "Something about a poker face."

"_Yup! Kaito's dad always told him that should a trick ever fail, one must never let the audience know. No matter where you are, always keep a good poker face_." Her words were confusing, but he and Naruto were astonished when Katy stepped out from behind Sasuke. She smiled at the two strange men, and spoke to her friends. "When I was younger I thought it would be awesome to become a magician. To do something completely impossible and astounding, and yet never letting the audience know how I did it. Now's my turn to actually do something." She turned to the Akatsuki now. "Hey! Want to see a magic trick?"

The two stared at her strangely. Itachi gave no hint of thinking she was weird. Kisame, on the other, looked like he would humor her. After all, they were about to be in the middle of something.

"Sure, kid. What's this 'magic trick' of yours?" he asked as if talking down to her.

Katy giggled almost innocently to everyone but Sasuke. His ears could pick up what type of giggle that was. Katy had two types: one where she was completely embarrassed about something and one where it said 'you can't see I'm going to do something bad but you won't know it till it's too late'. This giggle was the second type. She put her hands behind her back in a girlish way.

"It's a simple trick, really. Now you see us," she let grabbed something, a bump Sasuke realized now, out of her back pocket. Sasuke and Naruto noticed a familiar grey ball was now in her hand, "and now you don't!"

Katy smashed down the now-known smoke bomb on the ground. Their half of the street was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. It obscured them from the Akatsuki's vision. Naruto and Sasuke didn't know what was going on until they felt hands on one of their wrists and it started to drag them away back to where Sasuke ran from. They recovered, realizing what Katy did. Then, instead of letting Katy drag them, they ran as fast as they could while Sasuke dragged Katy away.

Sasuke dragged Katy around the corner he just came from with Naruto close behind. The moment they turned, they found themselves facing a crowded street full of street performers and bystanders. Sasuke led them into the street, swerving his head everywhere to see where they could hide. Katy looked behind her and Naruto and gasped. Kisame and Itachi were behind them and gaining speed.

"Sasuke! They're behind us!"

He looked over his shoulder and cursed. Shit! He should've known. Katy's little trick helped, if only a little, but it didn't help enough. He knew he had to keep cool. So he said the only logical thing that came to mind.

"Naruto! Shadow clone!"

Naruto stared at him as if asking 'What the hell?' It took a second to register what he meant. He made the Kage bunshin handseal as they dodged the multiple people. Instantaneously, clones of Naruto, Sasuke, and Katy appeared beside them. They were running as well.

"Scatter!" Sasuke ordered. He pushed Katy in a random direction and shot forward into the crowd.

The group of clones and the originals melted into the crowd. They all ran off in random directions, dodging the entertainers and viewers off guard. The clones each swerved into each other, making it difficult to see where the originals were. Kisame followed them into the crowd, grabbing whichever clone he could catch in hopes of it being the original. Itachi, on the other hand, had a different idea.

Sasuke dodged as many people as he could while running from the S-ranked ninja. He never looked back for Naruto or Katy. Naruto would be fine on his own; his shadow clones could help with that. Katy, he wasn't too sure about. She could have hid in a safe location or maybe just kept running. He had to go look for her. Gaining speed, he went ahead to go find her.

Naruto was thinking along the same lines. But he felt like something bad was going to happen to Katy. She wasn't a ninja. This was a simple enough reason. Of course he would worry about a civilian. Why was she helping him out, anyway? She should be worried about herself instead of him. Going through the crowd, he as well searched for her among the clones and crowd while avoiding the people who wanted him for whatever strange reason.

Katy, on the other hand, was the only one out of the three not to worry about getting caught. She had utmost faith in Naruto's cloning skills. There were too many copies of all three of them to be caught so easily. Even Itachi and Kisame wouldn't have the decency to chase after clones. Kisame probably couldn't even tell which was the real one. She was pretty sure he would be chasing through the crowd and knocking everything down in order to find them, causing enough mayhem for them to escape quietly.

Too bad she forgot about Itachi.

Katy turned a street corner and pressed herself against a building wall, doubled over with her hands on her knees. Her body ached all over. Running so much tired her out. She hasn't done that much running since she had to do that mile around the school in under ten minutes. Okay, so this wasn't so bad compared to running from two deadly ninjas. Who cares? She was tired. Not to mention all those people she bumped into. During her escape, she knocked over a number of people just to get away. Her shoulders hurt from bumping into numerous bodies all in one time. But a giddy feeling stayed in her chest, making her giggle like a madwoman. She had to admit. Running like that was kind of fun and exhilarating. It's been awhile since she ran like that. It was, in a crazy sort of way, fun. Though, she would never recommend doing it again. Running from shinobi was only fun at first. It was only until she got caught did it start to suck.

_But I should probably find Sasuke and Naruto now,_ she thought. At the thought of them, she straightened up. She looked up and down the scarce street she entered. No one but her was in sight. A sigh left her at this. _Great. In the moment I ended up losing them. I've gotta pay attention more, or get some kind of homing device to put on Sasuke now. We always get separated._

Oh well. No use standing there and complaining. She might as well as look for them while it was still light outside. The sun was going to set pretty soon. She turned to go back to the crowded street when suddenly she met a firm chest clothed by something black. Turning too fast, she ended up on the ground.

"Itai! Watch where you're going, you ah..." Katy tilted her head up to glare at whatever idiot decided to stand there behind her. She was frozen stiff meeting swirling red and black eyes. A squeak left her lips as Itachi stared down at her with a calculating look. "D-Damn," she squeaked.

As soon as she squeaked, Itachi quickly reached down and clamped a hand on her arm. Katy winced at the iron grip he had. Jeez, he was cutting off her blood circulation. He lifted her up into the air by her arm. Her feet barely touched the ground. She suddenly found herself at eye level with Itachi's hypnotizing ones.

"So...You're just an ordinary child," Itachi's chilling voice said. It sent shivers down her back. Whether it was pure fear or just the thought of her fanboy crush making contact with her, she wasn't so sure. "Foolish girl, do not concern yourself with things you do not comprehend."

"Um..." Wow, nice, Katy. The first time she speaks to Itachi face-to-face and that's the best she could come up with. Nice. Well, at least it was better than squealing or fainting. Then again, she was in a terrible position. She swallowed. She could only hope her last words wouldn't be 'um.'

"Tell me, little girl, what are you to my foolish little brother? The way he is protective of you, it as if you are almost... loving to each other."

It took a while for her to manage what he was saying. Her eyes went wide when they did.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! Sasuke and I are _not_ dating!" Great. Another person thinking she and Sasuke were dating. "I'm not dating that crazy boy! I do love him and all, but only like a brother-Oop!"

Katy clamped her mouth shut, staring up at Itachi. She shouldn't say that. In front of her was Sasuke's _real_ brother. She knew he still loved Sasuke and all and would never hurt her, but he had to in order to fake it. Itachi would do anything to keep his cover like in the series. He hurt Sasuke intentionally in order to not blow his cover, even if it literally killed him on the inside. It was kind of sad now that she thought about it. She could only hope Itachi wouldn't do the same to hurt in order to hurt Sasuke.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, his hand completely cutting off the blood circulation in her arm. She let out an 'Ow!'

"A brother, you say? Perhaps Sasuke will know to gather his hate if I were to hurt his sister," he coolly responded. Through his words, Katy could've sworn he was held back in anger and annoyance.

_Wait! I thought he was a pacifist!_

She truly thought this. Apparently not, seeing as how he closed his eyes and slowly reopened them. Katy was too late to close her eyes, but something else save her in time.

"_Dynamic entry!"_

_XXXXX_

I'm sorry. I know this is a lame ending. I used some of your ideas and all to finish this chapter but I got braindead towards the end. Not to mention I wanted to finish this week. I just started school again and tried to get back into the hang of things. Not to mention I'm incredibly sore from having a dance class for the first time and my arms and back hurt like hell! I'm really, really sorry if this ending sucks. Forgive me!

Please review!

-Twilit Angel


	30. Memory of despair

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 30

"Dynamic Entry!"

The cry took Katy by surprise. She didn't know what happened for it all happened so fast. All she saw was a greenish blur come towards her and Itachi from the corners of her eyes before she was knocked to the ground. For a quick second, she was disoriented from the rush. Then, she managed to recover long enough to see who rescued her.

"Gai-sensei!" Katy cried in relief. She was immensely relieved. For a second there she almost thought she'd die via Mangekyou Sharingan. Which was a pretty scary thought once you thought about it. In the anime and series it didn't look so bad. However, she learned to never trust what the series looked like again. Some things that happened in the series was totally different to experiencing them in real life. Take Itachi for example. Katy spotted him a couple feet away from where Gai was shielding her from him. She'd think the photos she saw of him would differ from the anime. Okay, yeah, she had to admit he was much more handsome in real life. Not to mention she only saw his childhood photos. He was a boy back then. Now, he was a man. It was a pretty big significance. "What are you doing here?" she asked the eccentric man.

"I had a feeling Sasuke Uchiha would come after Itachi," Gai replied, all signs of expectant hiliarity not there. Another point Katy realized. Not all of the characters would react the same way when put in a situation. This WAS a world where death was a daily thing. Being a ninja wasn't all fun and games, she guessed. Gai turned back to Itachi. "Why have you come to this town? Are you after Naruto?"

'No shit, Sherlock. What other person has a power that could destroy a whole country sealed inside him?' Katy thought, rolling her eyes. Honestly, why state the obvious. She supposed she shouldn't be too harsh on them. They didn't know the things she did and considering how many times she's read or watched the series there were alot.

Itachi didn't reply, opting to narrow his eyes at Gai. Katy sat there, unsure of what was going to happen. Were they going to fight? To be honest she's never seen a confrontation between Gai and Itachi. The first time Itachi and Kisame entered the village didn't count. Kakashi was there to fight Itachi once he arrived. It was always Gai and Kisame she saw fighting.

Just then, Kisame had appeared out of nowhere beside Itachi.

"Itachi, I couldn't find the Kyuubi brat anywhere," said Kisame, not noticing Gai nor Katy. He must have since what ninja would ignore a potential enemy in front of them? "Damn, I thought this would be pretty easy once that Toad Sannin was away from him. Some mission this is turning out to be."

"So you are," Gai confirmed from Kisame's words. "What exactly do you need Naruto for?"

"That is something you do not need to know," Itachi answered tonelessly.

"As a ninja of Konoha, I cannot allow you o do as you please with a fellow ninja. You're coming with me." Gai inclined his head back to Katy smiling brightly. "I'd suggest you leave, miss. Things will get messy that a young girl should never see."

Katy nodded, not bothering to mention she's seen worse. She didn't need to be told twice. With basically no jutsu at her disposal she'd only get in the way. Scrambling to her feet, she turned to start running as Gai charged off towards Itachi. However, something gripped her arm roughly and twisted her around. She didn't know how to react when a sharp object was positioned a bit too close to her throat.

"I'm afraid I can't leave any witnesses alive," Itachi muttered in her ear. If Katy wasn't frightened by the obvious threat, she would have sighed dreamily. "Killing you right now will force Sasuke to hate me further."

"No. Leave Sasuke alone," she whimpered. She didn't want to die and leave Sasuke there by himself. Why was he so obsessed with forcing Sasuke to hate him? Didn't he realized Sasuke didn't remember the massacre? "Why do you want Sasuke to suffer? It's bad enough he found out his entire family is dead."

He never responded, deciding to turn his attention towards the end of the street. She did the same to see Kisame had started to fight Gai (probably as payback for earlier) and to see Sasuke appear around the corner. He had stopped short at the sight of his brother holding his best friend at knife-point.

"For God's sake!" he cursed. This was not what he was expecting when he decided to go look for the girl. Sasuke thought Katy would have the sense to avoid any danger, but no. She had to find herself hostage in his murderer of a brother who would kill her with no remorse in his soul. How could she have gotten in trouble again? "I swear to God, Katy, I'm going to teach you some self-defense so this will never happen again! Let her go, Itachi! She has nothing to do with this!"

"Do you care that much for an insignificant girl, little brother?" Itachi mused, examining him in mild curiosity. He held the kunai in his hand tighter against Katy's throat. She squeaked as slight pain flashed down her spine, a thin line of blood streaming down her neck. "Tell me. Are you...afraid of being alone? Are you afraid you'll lose yet another precious person?"

Itachi's words struck a chord deep in Sasuke's mind. He heard the mocking tone his older brother adopted, but also the hidden fear he was hiding even to himself. Those emotions combined with his words forced images to flash in his eyes, a forgotten memory.

_The room was dark, save for the moonlight that shone through the window on his lfet. The moonlight shone down towards a single spot transfixed on the room's two objects. Those two objects were but two people: a man and a woman. The woman lay on her back on the wooden floor while the man lay horizontally on top of her face the ground. Blood had pooled around their still bodies and had splattered against the ground. What terrified Sasuke the most was that he knew the sick truth...They were his parents._

_"Mother! Father!" Sasuke ran into the room, closing the door behind him. He stared at the bodies of his parents, horrified. He was too shocked to do anything but stare. His parents were dead. That was impossible! They couldn't be dead. They were too strong to die! But the reality was that they were. They were gone and were never coming back. He would never see his mother's sweet smile again nor the pride in his father's eyes if he had accomplished something well. He felt like crying when he finally noticed something. Someone was in the room with him._

_He lifted his head to see a figure standing near his parents' bodies. It was impossible to tell who this person was for the figure's profile was the only thing shown as he faced the window. Then, the figure turned his head to reveal crimson eyes. With a jolt Sasuke realized this figure was his brother, Itachi. He nearly cried in relief. His brother was okay!_

_"Nii-san, what happened? Mother, Father, and everyone else are-are dead! W-Who did this..."_

_Sasuke stopped speaking when he felt a sharp pinch on his shoulder and the thunk! of a shuriken embedding itself into wood. When the pain hit he flinched and placed a hand where the cut was. Sasuke didn't know which to be shocked at: the fact his brother raised a weapon at him or the fact his brother hurt him. He suddenly felt cold and shivered at Itachi's actions._

_"Foolish otouto." Itachi closed his eyes. A few seconds later he slowly opened them. Sasuke froze in place when he gazed into crimson eyes holding a pinwheel instead of the usual tomoe and suddenly, things went black._

_Sasuke awakened to find himself standing in the middle of a street in the Uchiha compound. Something was different, though. The sky was a deep red while the full moon was as black as a raven's wing._

_'What's going on? Where am I?'_

_He didn't understand what was happening until Itachi appeared in the street. His eyes, though red like the sky, were dead and devoid of emotion as he raised his blade to penetrate the flesh of their relatives. A scream of terror left Sasuke at the heartless act. He tried to move to go help them, but he was rooted to the spot by force. Everyone around him began to drop dead, motionless and their life forcing slipping from their grasps forever. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the death all around him._

_"Nii-san, stop it! Why are you showing me all of this!" he screamed._

_The surroundings soon changed to the room they were once in. Sasuke reopened his eyes to see his mother and father on their knees. He was about to cry in relief at the sight of them until suddenly Itachi appeared behind them with katana in hand. In one quick movement the sword pierced through their unprotected bodies, blood beginning to pour out. They both fell where they were never to movie again._

_"Mother! Father!" screamed Sasuke, horror filling his soul._

_Everything shifted back to the street. The whole process repeated as it did for what seemed like the next twenty-four hours. After those hours were up, everything went black._

_Sasuke found himself standing back where he was in the room where his mother and father lay, the sky back to normal. He was breathing heavily, shaking from what he was just shown. Itachi, his dear older brother, murdered their entire family that night in cold blood. Tears filled his eyes. How could he? Why did he do this?_

_"To test my capacity," replied Itachi coldly to Sasuke's spoken questions._

_Sasuke was shocked at the simple answer. To test his capacity? That was the answer why he did this heartless sin? THAT'S the reason why he decided to kill their clan in cold blood? Anger filled his entire being steadily. "To test your capacity? That's the whole reason...you killed everyone?"_

_"It was...essential." If Sasuke had been listening carefully he would have heard the immense pain and guilt behind that cold exterior. But he didn't._

_"That's...complete crap!"_

_Sasuke shot up to his feet and charged at Itachi. He had only taken a few steps before Itachi had moved in front of him and punched him in the abdomen. That knocked the breath out of him and his body fell limp. Sasuke began to fall towards the floor before he felt someone catch him._

_Itachi caught Sasuke's limp body and held him close to his chest, Sasuke's head against his heart. Sasuke didn't understand what was going on until he felt shaking against his head. Then, he heard the muttered words and small concealed sobs. That was when he realized with a start-_

_Itachi was crying._

_"Damn it...I can't do it. I can't do it," Itachi hissed, barely holding back a sob. He held Sasuke tightly. "I'm sorry... I can't continue with this... I can't... abandon by brother like this..."_

_"N-Nii-san..." Sasuke, once seeing his usually strong brother cry, began to cry himself. He buried his face against Itachi's armor, crying uncontrollably. "Why did you kill the clan? Why did you do any of this?"_

_"Sorry...I had to..."_

_The two brothers continued to cry, letting out their tears of sadness. That night, they realized they were all that aws left of the Uchiha clan. All they had were each other now. Sasuke cried even harder at that prospect as Itachi tried to stop his own tears. Even after their tears stopped flowing, the two were still enveloped in a cloud of despair._

_"Nii-san, wh-what are we going to do now?" asked Sasuke, his voice muffled through Itachi's chest._

_Itachi sighed, releasing Sasuke to wipe his tears. "I must continue my mission." he said. "I can't stay here any longer."_

_"Wh-Where will we go?" Sasuke didn't want to leave Konoha. This place was his home, but they had to. Itachi was going to get arrested for killing the whole clan and he was going to be all alone. He didn't want to lose his brother. Itachi was all he had left. The only way they could stay together was to run away. Sasuke looked up to Itachi's face to see his face impassive once more with eyes closed. "N-Nii-san?"_

_"...I will leave the country and lay low."_

_"What about me?" asked Sasuke in confusion._

_He opened his eyes and Sasuke could clearly see the anguish in his now onyx eyes._

_"You're going somewhere else."_

_"No! I want to go with you!" He yelled, his fists clenching. "You killed the entire clan... but you're all I have left. I can't lose you too..."_

_"...It must be done..." Itachi said softly, remorse lining his words. "Whether I want to or not."_

_"You're sending me away?" Sasuke was alarmed. Where was he going to be sent? That wasn't what concerned Sasuke, though. "You're...going to come back for me? Right? I'll see you again, right?" he asked. He didn't want this to be the last time he ever saw him._

_Sasuke was devastated when Itachi shook his head forlornly._

_"I'm afraid not," he answered quietly. "This will probably be the last we shall ever see each other again."_

_"No! Nii-san, I don't want to be alone!" He burst into tears again. "No... Please..."_

_"I know it's hard, otouto," Itachi soothed, rubbing Sasuke's back like when he had nightmares. "That is why you'll forget everything in order for you to start a new life."_

_"F-Forget? Start a new life?"_

_"Yes. Otouto, I know you will forget this, but no matter what we are always brothers. No one can change that." With his free hand Itachi made a single one-handed seal and poured most of his chakra into it. He pulled Sasuke away from him and gave one last gentle smile. "Forgive me, Sasuke."_

_With that final thing said he poked Sasuke in the head with two fingers. Sasuke saw stars in his vision at the poke. He suddenly felt light headed. Slowly, his eyes began to close as he sank into a dark abyss. As he sank, one last line floated into his head._

_"I'm sorry. This is the last time."_

The images stopped, allowing Sasuke to regain himself. However, no such thing happened. He was on his knees, his breathing laboured and mind going blank. Everything seemed to be fading away, only one thing seeming to matter at the moment.

Fear...Anger...Sadness...Hate...No words could express the wave of emotions he felt from that single memory of that night. That night which he desperately didn't want to know or remember at all. He felt sick to his stomach remembering how he once had a loving family only for all of them to be taken away in fell swoop. And all because of what his older brother had to do. It was horrible to know why what he did it as well because of his damn knowledge.

_Goddamnit! Itachi, why! Why did he have to take away my memories? Why did he have to send my away like that? Why?_ Sasuke screamed in his head. Why did Itachi have to leave him alone? Why did he have to do any of this? Why...Why...? The emotions bottle up all came pouring out. When he thought about remembering his older brother he didn't think of something along those lines. He wanted to remember the kind and caring older brother he saw in all those pictures of when they were younger. Not like that. Not of him standing over their parents with all the blood of their relatives on his hands. His stomach churned, the world around him starting to turn and twist.

"Sasuke!" Katy cried out as she saw her friend sink to his knees, trembling. Fear began to build inside of her, the boy's sudden lack of movement being the cause. For one, she had no idea what happened to him. What it Itachi? Did he step on a trap or something? Did he eat some bad pizza? Nothing! He could be in serious trouble, something which could need immediate attention and all she could do was watch. Second was herself. Itachi, despite his pacifism, could kill her and there was something wrong with Sasuke. There was almost no hope left, no one left to save her life. It scared her so much she felt like crying. "Sasuke! Sasuke, get up! Sasuke!"

"Hmph. As weak as ever, I see," commented Itachi, observing his trembling brother.

Katy felt herself start to shake as well, but not in fear. No. Her fear began to ebb away as soon as Itachi opened his mouth to be replaced with irritation. "Shut up! Sasuke is ten times the person you are!" she growled, tilting her head up to glower at him. "I love Sasuke like he's my own brother. How can you say such a thing when you're his older brother?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"How do you know of that?"

She clamped her mouth shut. What did he mean how she knew he was Sasuke's brother? It was pretty obvious! Then, it hit her. During this whole time Itachi nor Sasuke have said aloud they were brothers. Naruto and Kisame didn't know about this fact yet. She wasn't even supposed to mention they were related until someone else said it. Katy searched her brain for some kind of excuse to tell him how she could have known. So when she heard a familiar yell she was more than relieved.

"Let Katy go!" Naruto shouted from above. Katy glanced higher in time to see Naruto fall towards them with a kunai in his hand. Itachi released Katy from his grasp and jumped back. Naruto landed where Itachi once stood standing in front of Katy. She had fallen to the ground, disoriented for a split second. Naruto reached a hand out to pull her up to her feet, glancing at her in worry at the thin line on her neck that continued to bleed. "You're not that hurt, are you?"

She shook her head, ignoring the scent of rust. Katy glanced over her shoulder to where Sasuke was still on his knees. Without thinking. she was by his side. Naruto followed closely behind her, surprised to see his teammate in such a way. She wrapped an arm around him, worry painting her face. "Sasuke, come on. What's wrong?" Sasuke didn't respond. His shaking had stopped considerably but he didn't respond. Tears gathered in her eyes and began to fall. "Naruto, I don't know what's wrong with him. Sasuke..." Her attempts at keeping it in failed. Seeing her best friend like this was too much and water began leaking from her eyes. "Please, tell me what's wrong." She pushed him by the shoulders to try to get him to sit up only to fall on his side. From there, she could see his eyes were closed. He had fainted. She shook him by the shoulders. "Sasuke? Sasuke! Wake up!"

Sasuke didn't respond to any of it. Usually, he would tense up at the sound of her crying and try to get her to stop. He always thought it was annoying for her to crying out of nothing. Not this time. He didn't even wake up once she started to shake him. Katy managed to stop her tears in enough time to hear Kisame growl and the sound of a poof.

"Well, now. Isn't this some party?" Katy snapped her head behind her to see Jiraiya appear in front of them. A toad the size of a man poofed into existence in front of Gai, who was struggling to hold his own against Kisame. The swordsman brought his bandaged wrapped sword down on Gai only for the sword to be caught between the toad's flippers. He grinned over to Itachi. "Did you really think that I, the Great Jiriaya, would fall for a ruse like that?"

"What the hell, Ero-sennen! Where _were_ you? Katy and I were in danger while you were off running off with some lady and now you show up?" Naruto yelled in disbelief. "Katy could have been killed by that guy who looks like Sasuke! And only because they wanted me!"

"So it seems you broke the genjutsu on that woman," Kisame observed.

"You people are low, using the Sharingan to put a genjutsu on an innocent woman just to draw me away from Naruto," said Jiraiya, his grin fading fast.

Itachi glared at him. "So that's how Kakashi knew. You were the one to tell him." He closed his eyes. "To abduct Naruto. Those were the orders given to us by the higher-ups of our organization Akatsuki."

'And I wish Akatsuki weren't giving these orders in the first place,' Katy thought, sniffling. The Akatsuki were the main antagonists of the second part of the series. They were such a horrible group that took lives to achieve what they wanted. She wasn't even sure what they wanted the Bijuus for in the first place. All she knew was what they were doing was wrong. It was because of them all of the villages felt like they were in danger.

The toad poofed out of existence. Kisame jumped back next to Itachi while Gai did the same to Jiraiya.

"You won't get Naruto," Jiraiya confidently declared.

"And why not?" Itachi asked.

"Because right here, right now you two will die by my hand."

For the first time a shiver went down Katy's spine with Jiraiya's threat. The man always seemed so carefree and ridiculous that she almost forgot he could be serious. And, boy, when he was serious he sounded frightening. She was confident those two Akatsuki members would never stand a chance against Jiraiya. There was only one person who could and he had killed Jiraiya in the series when they met.

Itachi and Kisame seemed to think so as well.

"What do we do now, Itachi?" Kisame asked, almost uncertain of what to do. "We can't go against the Toad Sannin. We don't stand a chance!"

"We'll retreat. For now. But next time..." Itachi turned his eyes to Naruto. "The Akatsuki will never stop coming after you, Naruto. Where ever you go we will not hesitate to follow. It will be ours."

And then, they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Gai sighed. "Well, there's no point in following after them now. They will probably out of town by now."

"You're right. We'll just have to leave them." Jiraiya glanced over to Katy and Naruto with a relieved smile. "I can't believe you two are alright. How did you even escape from those two in the first place?"

"We only escaped because of Katy," said Naruto with a laugh. "In the Inn we heard a knock and she told me there was someone dangerous behind it. We left through the window and ran all over town to get away from them. When we were almost caught she used a smoke bomb to distract them enough to let us escape. I don't think we would be all right without her."

"Really? That was really smart thinking. At least none of you aren't hurt."

"Hurt? Aren't hurt?" Katy snapped her head up to Jiraiya glaring at him. He blinked in confusion at her narrowed eyes as she stood to her feet, shaking. "What the hell do you mean by none of us were hurt? We wouldn't even be in that situation in the first place if you hadn't gone gallivanting over some woman and left us to fend for ourselves! What kind of person leaves three thirteen year old kids alone to fight off against two experienced killers! Because of you, I don't even know what's wrong with Sasuke!" She pointed over to Sasuke, who still lay on his side unconscious. A sob left her lips as she covered her face with her hands.

"What even happened to him?" Naruto asked.

"I-I don't know. Sasuke saw that Itachi had me hostage and Itachi said something. Then, Sasuke just fell to his knees and started shaking and..." She burst into tears. She was so worried about him. How could he have fainted? Itachi didn't even pull out his Mangekyou Sharingan like in the series to damage his mind. What was wrong with him?

Jiraiya knelt down next to Sasuke to examine him. He raised an eyebrow.

"He fainted out of shock, I think."

"Shock? What was he so shocked about?" asked Naruto, confused. "I mean, it's kind of scary to think some rogue ninja had my best friend hostage but that's not something to faint over."

"I'm not sure. I think he fainted over recognizing Itachi," Jiraiya suggested.

"Why?"

"Itachi is Sasuke's older brother and the one who murdered their clan. Didn't you know?"

He gasped, shaking his head. He thought it was strange how that man knew Sasuke and why they looked similar, but brother? That was not something he expected.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Well, yes. Anyway, it's not a good idea if we remain here. They could come back any second. We'll need to leave."

Gai nodded. "Yes, I think that's best. I'll go back to the village with Sasuke. We'll need to figure out what's wrong with him."

"I'm going with you!" Katy blurted out. She uncovered her face to show she managed to stop crying for the time being. "I'm sorry, Jiraiya. I'm really worried about Sasuke. I want to go with you to find this Tsunade woman, but..."

"I get it. You have a duty to your friend. It's fine," Jiraiya said, smiling. "It's pretty admirable of you to stay with your friend. You're pretty devoted."

"I guess..." Katy didn't know if she felt flattered right now because worry was dominating her mind. What was wrong with Sasuke? What could have caused him to faint like that? Was it Itachi like Jiraiya said? But Sasuke already knew Itachi was his brother! There was something going on with Sasuke and she would have to ask him when he woke up. Hopefully, he would tell her.

This time, she was going to hold him up when he was going to fall.

* * *

Hello, everyone! Guess who's back! I'm not dead despite the fact I haven't updating in almost a year. My muse for Naruto left me during the school year leaving me with no inspiration to write until this summer. I swear to God I am going to finish this story if it's the last thing I do! I'm not sure if people are still faithful to the story (since I feel like I should revise the whole thing) but I'm trying my best here. I've also been trying to seek closure for Harry Potter since I just saw the last movie a week ago and am currently in Post-Potter depression. I've also been low on story ideas so if anyone is kind enough, please give me story ideas! They may or may not be useful in the future.

That's all I have to say except for please review!

-Twilit Angel


	31. Weeks later

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 31

The next few days seemed to become a blur for Katy. She only had a vague idea as to what had happened.

The day she went back to the village with Gai they had taken Sasuke to the hospital to see if he was all right. Not long after they got to the hospital Sasuke had woken up. There wasn't much wrong with him _physically_, but mentally and emotionally there was something seriously wrong with him. Once he had woken up, Katy was so relieved he wasn't in a coma like in the series. However, she was quick to notice he didn't even react when she hugged him tightly. He sat there in his bed staring at nothing. He said nothing to her like how much of an idiot she was to have been taken hostage _again_ for what seemed like the millionth time. When she didn't hear the worried, harsh tone of her best friend Katy knew something was seriously wrong.

Multiple times after Sasuke was released from the hospital that very same day she asked what was wrong and why had he collapsed the way he did. And it was multiple times she was ignored or brushed aside. When she began to find Sasuke sitting around the house staring blankly out the window, worry started to creep into her mind. Of course, he trained in order to keep in shape but it was as if he were a puppet on strings. He did the exercises as he was supposed to but it was lacking. He didn't have that fire in his eyes when he is determined to master a jutsu or to become stronger. It was like the life was sucked out of him. What happened that day where he saw Itachi again was a mystery to her, but she knew it hurt Sasuke far too much.

"What happened that day?" asked Haku after Katy voiced her concerns to him one day. They were sitting on the roka facing the garden that afternoon after Katy came home from work. Between them sat a tray of tea and snacks that lay untouched at the moment.

"I don't know. Itachi said something and all of a sudden Sasuke collapsed," she sighed tiredly. She lay on her back staring up at the underside of the roof. "I'm so worried about him, Haku. He's acting like a puppet or something. He's there, but he's not entirely there. You get what I mean?"

"I do. He's not acting like himself."

"I don't know what's wrong with him. What should we do? I want my Sasuke back." She wanted the Sasuke who would yell at her for getting herself into trouble and would lend a helping hand if she ever needed it. This Sasuke...he was acting exactly like the one in the manga after he was healed by Tsunade. He just wasn't himself anymore.

Haku reached a hand over to her own, patting it gently. "Don't worry. Just give him some time. He'll snap out of whatever state he is in soon. I promise."

Katy forced a smile. She wanted to believe Haku-that Sasuke would be his usual self in no time.

And yet he didn't.

A couple more days passed since Haku swore Sasuke would be all right. He was certainly not returning to his usual self. Katy grew steadily concerned as she observed Sasuke. She noticed that although he was spending more time training he wasn't eating as much. Being a growing boy and a growing ninja, he usually ate so much food that she sometimes swore he was going to eat her paychecks to oblivion. After the Incident, as it was now dubbed, he barely touched his food anymore. He would take a handful of bites before he would excuse himself to his room. With his eating pattern changing she could almost swear she saw him becoming thinner and thinner before her eyes. Sakura noticed this as well one day she saw him as he passed by. One day she had come over to their house to bring some food for Sasuke. The food was quickly accepted in hopes it would get Sasuke to eat. That hope was in vain. He barely touched the food.

The last straw was placed after that event. It was irrational, really, but she couldn't take the sight of him moping anymore. It was starting to become annoying to try to take care of him when he was like that and reminded her far too much of the Uchiha after he woke up from his Mangekyou Sharingan-induced coma. She had become tired of the Sasuke Uchiha in the series after she saw Sasuke Hailton make different decisions from his character. To see him act exactly like him pushed her over the edge. She knew her efforts to try to coax it out of him was not going to work at all. That plan was a failure. In order to get Sasuke to snap out of his state she was going to do some more _drastic_ measures.

One night after dinner Katy moved silently through the house like a ghost. She didn't really need to stay silent since Haku was exhausted from training and Sasuke didn't really care about anything in his state. However, she felt like one of them may come out and ask what she was doing. What she was doing was a little dangerous-or at least, they would think so. Silently, she tiptoed through the house until she came to a particular door.

Entering Sasuke's father's office, she wandered over to the shelves of scrolls. Her eyes scanned each and every scroll trying to find one in particular. After a bit of searching, she found it on one of the lower shelves. She plucked it out, opened it, and smiled.

"Hello, Great Fireball jutsu. It's time I actually prove I can be a part of this family," she said to herself.

It would be a little dangerous to learn a jutsu on her own, she knew at least that much. What choice did she have? No one would possibly train her if she asked. Being a civilian, they would only laugh at the thought. Her friends may be a little gentler, but they would refuse none the less. Why did she want to learn the jutsu in the first place? It was because of something Sasuke said before he went brain-dead.

Sasuke said he was going to teach her some self-defense so she would never be taken hostage again. At the time she thought he was only saying that because he was aggravated. Much later, she began to wonder if that was a good idea. Frankly, being taken hostage or kidnapped was beginning to get tedious. Since Orochimaru, she was getting tired of being a damsel in distress. Ugh, she didn't want to become a useless whiny girl who always got in the way like Bella in that Twilight series the girls her age liked. It was getting far too old and it was about time she had a fighting chance before she gets herself caught. Seeing as how she had to teach herself, she thought it best to learn an Uchiha jutsu. After all, she _did _ have some Uchiha in her veins now. So, it would be all good.

With the scroll in hand Katy slipped out of the house towards the forest by the compound. She had a flashlight with her as well since she was blind in the dark. In the forest she kept walking through the dark ignoring any sounds that may or may not scare the life out of her. Before she knew it, she found herself in a clearing near a pond-something she found during her explorations of the area. She sat by the pond with the scroll unfurled on the floor in front of her, reading by the flashlight. Her eyes skimmed over the material, becoming more and more confused with each line she read.

"I'm supposed to feel what with the what?" Katy asked in confusion. The things being explained in the scroll was confusing to say the least. She understood how she was supposed to use the chakra but after she made the handseals how was she supposed to blow the fire? It was times like these she wish she spoke ninja as well. Some of the things they spoke about completely confused her like an elaborate math equation. Her head sank a bit as she sighed. "I think I'm going to work on my chakra control first."

Seeing as how she recently found she could use chakra like everyone else, she knew it was time to work on controlling it. It would be dangerous for her to even try the jutsu. She would end up giving herself third degree burns like Sasuke had when he tried to master it. It would be awkward to answer questions when asked what asked how she burned her mouth.

Katy stood to her feet and wandered over to the edge of the pond. Closing her eyes, she made the handseals she always saw Naruto use when he's concentrating on his chakra. She was going to try one of those exercises Kakashi recommended would be helpful to learn how to harness her chakra: water walking. Tree climbing would be useful as well but the idea of another broken arm deterred her. At least you could swim through water. As she focused, she felt something rise in her body.

It brought back a memory of Anko telling Sasuke during their training days that he had to imagine chakra like a flowing stream and trying to flow the water into a lake while gathering it in his hands. She imagined it like that and redirected the water to her feet.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the pond. Katy was surprised to feel the fluid liquid under her feet feel like concrete. Because of the surprise, she only managed half a step before she wobbled and fell head first into the pond.

Swearing profusely, she crawled out of the pond dripping wet.

"And here I thought this would be easy," Katy swore softly, wringing her clothes of water. She sighed. "What did I expect? To be some kind of prodigy? I bet it took Itachi days to get this down. I just need to keep trying."

She often spoke to herself whenever she needed the encouragement. Usually, Sasuke would be the one to do that but he needed encouraging himself. She stood back up and tried again.

For the next week and a half Katy continued to work on her control and walking on water. She would train during the night, despite being exhausted she was from work, determined to show she was not useless and return home around three in the morning to get some sleep for work. No one knew she was doing this, but she was sure Haku was suspicious everytime she retreated into her room after dinner. After all, she was sloppy at being stealthy. She always left water tracks in the house every time she slipped back into the house.

However, it didn't last very long. Within a week she finally managed to master the technique after that week.

"Yahoo! I did it!" Katy exclaimed, jumping up and down on the water. She didn't sink, thankfully, thinking about the chakra swirling on her feet in the back of her mind. Twirling in a circle, she giggled with glee. "Man, I bet Jesus was happy he got to walk on water unlike the rest of his followers. This is awesome!"

After almost two weeks of nothing but concentration and chakra exhaustion, she mastered this blasted technique. All she had to do was imagine the chakra like a river flowing to a specific area and she was good. Of course, it wasn't that easy considering her control sucked at first. She was getting there, though. The control didn't come as easily as it did with Sakura-it was sheer will power she managed to control it. Katy stepped back to dry land before she lost concentration and fell into the pond again.

Sighing in relief, Katy plopped onto the ground next to her clothes she took off to stop getting them wet. Next to her clothes sat the fireball jutsu. Picking it up, she unfurled it, hands shaking and heart pounding in excitement. For now, she was going to skip all the theory stuff. Practicality was always the best way to learn, not stuffy old theory. Her eyes skimmed through the lettering searching for the hand seals.

"And here goes hours of trying to learn and memorize each and every seal," she said aloud. Standing up, she slowly formed each seal, sending appropriate amounts of chakra into each one. At the final tiger seal she took a deep breath and exhaled it. What happened was both surprising and disappointing.

As soon as she blew out the air from her mouth, fire spouted out of her mouth as if she were a dragon. However, it was all but a tiny flame compared to what she's seen Sasuke do. When all the air in her lungs were gone she took deep gasps while smoke simmered in the air. Blinking several times, she groaned. What was that? That wasn't even a flicker of flame compared to Sasuke's! Not to mention the inside of her mouth tingled as if she ate a hot chili pepper by itself. At least she wasn't burned. Yet.

"Alright, let's try that again."

During the next hour she kept performing the jutsu, adjusting her chakra amounts with each try. And yet for some reason, her fire was nothing but a small flame.

"Goddamnit! What am I doing wrong?" Katy screamed out in frustration after the twentieth try. She collapsed on the ground, panting harshly from the effort. Because she kept taking deep breaths for the jutsu, she began to feel light headed. Rolling onto her side, she eyed the scroll. It sat there, taunting her as if saying 'Come on! You know you need to know the basics.' She refused to look at it seeing as how _none of it made sense_! This time, she would to abide. Grabbing the scroll, she skimmed over it once again. Near the end of the incredibly dull paragraphs, she spotted something useful.

_**Draw chakra from the mouth and inhale into the chest. Hold it there briefly, then immediately exhale.**_

Katy raised an eyebrow. From the mouth? She thought the chakra would be coming from the lungs and the oxygen into the air, not the mouth. And draw it into the chest? Like hold her breath for a brief second? She wasn't sure if that's what it meant but she might as well as try.

With a great effort she pushed herself onto her feet once more. Once in position she made the correct hand seals, this time concentrating on the chakra in her mouth and imagining it in her chest. At once she felt a great pressure pushing against her lungs waiting to be released. She couldn't hold it for long and exhaled. Her eyes widened when she saw the fire had grown bigger compared to her last attempt. The jutsu soon ended, and she threw a look at the scroll.

"Okay, maybe you're not as useless as I thought."

Now that she knew what to do Katy continued to practice the jutsu on her own. The jutsu was draining, though, as she began to improve. The number of attempts she could perform the jutsu decreased in number as each day passed. And each time, her body began to ache in ways it never has before. It became apparent at work when she no longer had the stamina to perform her duties. Tsubaki thought it was just lack of sleep while Sumi suspected more. Luckily, neither women acted on their thoughts once they saw how stubborn Katy was to work despite her apparent tiredness. As long as she could work properly, they did not pry.

Two weeks after her first attempt at the jutsu, she actually managed to master the jutsu in the most unexpected way.

It was already dark as Katy bid goodbye to Tsubaki. Her night job had just ended and she was more than ready to get home. She stretched her poor aching muscles, wincing when she flexed her arms.

_I have got to start stretching before I train_, she thought, massaging her arm. Her arms hurt from how she had them positioned during each attempt at the fire ball jutsu. Every single body part ached because of her training. She wished Haku was there to carry her home or something, but unfortunately he was taking a solo mission at the moment. Since Sasuke was still in his zombie state and Katy was trying to distract herself from worrying, he had taken to taking missions on his own to help get money. They were running low on supplies around the house so she was happy he was helping. It was better than him sulking around whole day. She sighed, remembering her best friend. _ It's been a month. When is he going to snap out of it?_

She missed Sasuke being his usual self. At first she thought giving him some space would get him back to normal, but it's been so long. Asking him what was wrong didn't work and she thought if he saw her doing something dangerous he would be back to normal. No, he wasn't. He didn't even act suspicious at the fact she was always disappearing after dinner. No, he didn't even bat an eyelash. It was frustrating to even catch his attention anymore.

"Look at me! I sound like a girl who's trying to draw attention to myself!" snorted Katy. She sounded like a spoiled brat seeking attention in her ears. How low was she going to get just to get Sasuke back to normal. She sighed, feeling melancholy at her thoughts. "Well, it is Sasuke. I just want him back."

Tears nearly gathered at the edges of her eyes. He knew he could tell her anything, yet why was he so depressed? Didn't he know she would understand why he was acting like that? If only he told her the problem! Sighing once again, she turned a corner towards an empty park. Katy had taken to using this route to get home since she couldn't use her shortcut anymore. That dark alleyway brought back too many bad memories. She walked passed the play structures that morphed into frightening creatures in the dark. Passing by the edge of the forest next to the park, she was about to head in the direction of the compound when she started to hear voices.

"Kaori! Come on, babe. I said I was sorry," a male's voice cut through the silent night. Katy's ears pricked up at the desperation she heard in the plea.

"Forget it, Ichirou! Just stay away from me!" a woman's voice shrieked after, anger changing her pretty voice.

"Kaori!"

Footsteps approached her as they came nearer and nearer, the voices increasing in volume as they approached.

It wasn't her place to listen in on personal affairs of others; especially people she didn't know. But hearing other people's problems was so welcoming compared to all the tension and worry she had about Sasuke. Against her better judgement, she slipped into the forest to hide amongst the shrubs before they found her. It was just then when she saw two people come from the direction she was headed.

With the street lights on she could see a woman walking away in a rage, her pretty face contorted in fury. Behind her a young man hurried after frustration set in his young features. Both were dressed as if they were going out into town. The man caught up to the woman grabbing her arm to get her to stop.

"Will you just wait and listen to me?" he pleaded.

"And listen to you spout how sorry you were and that you love me?" The woman, Kaori, snorted, wrenching her arm out of his grip. "Anything you say is a complete lie! Why should I listen to you after what you've done?"

The man, Ichirou, sighed.

"Look, whatever Sadou said about me is not true. I did not lie about going on those missions. I did go on them."

"Oh? Then what about what he said about that girl you got pregnant over in the Kumo? Was it a lie that she came here asking for you?"

"I don't even know that girl!"

"Lies! She showed Sadou a picture of you together that month you had a solo mission over there!"

"Sachiko took a photo of us together?" he asked, horrified.

_Oh, man! You, sir, are an idiot_, Katy clucked in her head. This guy was an idiot. You can't just go cheating on a woman with another and think you can keep it a secret. She became more and more intrigued. This reminded her of those soap operas her mother liked so much on the Filipino channel. This was getting good.

"So you do know her! I knew it!" Kaori accused triumphantly. She whirled on her high heels in huff.

Seeing his mistake, Ichirou ran around her to stop her from running off. He grabbed her hand, holding it gently. "Kaori, please. I _love_ you. Sachiko means nothing to me."

Katy winced as she heard the audible smack Kaori lay on him. He stared at her enraged face in shock.

"So you think I'll take you back just because she means nothing to you? You are the scum of the earth! What kind of sick bastard abandons a woman he got pregnant and says he doesn't care about her when she's carrying your child?" she yelled. "We are _through_! You hear me?"

The man continued to stare in shock as the woman stomped off towards town. However, things went downhill from there. Ichirou's shock quickly shifted to that of rage. In a blink of an eye he caught Kaori again, whirling her around to face her.

"What the hell? Let go of me!" Kaori screamed, twisting her arm to get away from him in vain. Ichirou didn't comply, gripping both her forearms tightly.

"We're through when I say we're through," he growled dangerously. Suddenly, he pulled Kaori into a forceful kiss, meshing his lips to hers hard enough to bruise.

At the kiss she began to struggle, hitting her fists against his chest. She was clearly not enjoying it like he was. She whimpered in pain for some strange reason as tears slid down her eyes.

Katy watched the scene with wide eyes. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting that. She knew she should probably turn her eyes away from the scene to preserve her virgin eyes, but she couldn't. It's like when she watches horror movies. She knows that something is going to happen, yet she can't turn her eyes away from the scene. Her heart pounded faster and faster in her veins as she watched, knowing this wasn't going to turn out well.

Soon, the kiss broke to give air to the fighting couple. Kaori drew in frightened little gasps as she stared up at Ichirou.

"You are mine and there's nothing anyone can say about it," he hissed, leaning down to bite her exposed neck her dress allowed. She cried out, blood pouring down from the wound which he started to lick.

"Ichirou, stop. Please, no," she whimpered. She struggled again to somehow get away. However, she stopped when he backhanded her.

"Shut up! I can do what I want!" As if to emphasize this, a kunai appeared in his hand as he used it to slash her dress apart.

Katy couldn't take it. She couldn't watch this any longer. She couldn't just sit there as some guy was about to rape his unwilling girlfriend! If she had managed to pay attention, she would have re-thought her next actions. Because before she knew it, her hands began forming the familiar hand seals she began to know too well. The familiar tingle in her mouth and pressure in her chest came quickly. She exhaled it as quickly as she could.

'Fire style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!'

The night lit up once more as huge flames spouted from her mouth. Ichirou was obviously a ninja, because he saw the attack and pushed both him and Kaori apart to avoid being caught on fire with Kaori falling to the ground. Katy ran out of the bushes to stand between the two facing Ichirou. There was a moment of shocked silence with Ichirou trying to identify who attacked.

"Wh-What? A kid?" he sputtered in shock.

"A-A girl...? Why-" Kaori started, but paused as she noticed something on Katy's back.

"Miss, please get away from here! I'll try to distract him so you can escape!" Katy said to her, shaking from what she had just done.

The woman stared at her in astonishment either because she couldn't believe it or that she was a kid. A few seconds later she scrambled to her feet and bowed.

"Thank you so much!"

Without another word she escaped towards town.

Katy turned her attention back to Ichirou to see that his shock was wearing off. His eyes were narrowed.

"You little brat! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Obviously, I'm trying to prevent a woman from being raped by her violent Shinobi boyfriend," she answered in a 'duh' tone. This was just a mask to her true emotion: fear. She was literally shaking in her spot because she didn't know what to do now. All she had done was taunt the guy and make him pissed. Maybe she could intimidate him? "Speaking of which, isn't there some law about ninjas never harming civilians? Especially ones who decide to cheat on their girlfriends and lie about it?"

"Shut up! You don't know anything!"

"Good, because I happen to hate hearing lies coming from an unfaithful man!"

Growling, the man charged at her. Katy's eyes grew wide and she once again made the hand seals for the fireball jutsu. She was too slow. Before she could make the final Tiger seal, Ichirou had already lunged at her, disrupting her concentration. He tackled her to the ground, putting all his heavy weight on top of her tiny body. Katy felt her head bang against the pavement causing stars to erupt in her vision.

"Not this time, brat." He laughed at overcoming her, which she vaguely thought was sad. The stars cleared from her eyes. Glancing up, she noticed him glancing down at her with this weird look in his eye. She thought it was weird how they hovered around her chest and lower regions. It was a familiar look she knew somewhere...on Jiraiya.

Her heart sank as Ichirou moved the hand he wasn't using to trap her hands to her chest, pressing against it. A perverted grin she recognized from Kakashi appeared on his lips.

"Not bad. I think you'll be a nice substitute seeing as how you chased off my means of venting," he chuckled darkly.

_Oh, no...Ew! Pedophile_! Katy thought. Oh, no. No, no. Hell no! This was wrong on so many levels! She wouldn't be ready for this kind of activities until she's twenty! Frantic in both thoughts and emotions, she twisted harshly under the man trying to escape. However, she stopped when he moaned and pressed his weight onto her more.

"Oh, don't stop. I like that."

It was with revulsion she realized this was turning him on. Her eyes became wet and blurred her vision. Squeezing her eyes shut, she started to scream.

"SASUKE! SASUKE! HELP ME-" Her screams were cut off when Ichirou cut her off by pressing his lips onto her own. He raised his head, placing the kunai at her neck.

"There are other ways to silence people, little girl, so I suggest you be silent," he threatened. He pressed the kunai further against her neck hard enough to draw blood.

Completely scared out of her wits, she nodded, sobs crawling up her throat. She tensed when she felt the kunai's tip slash from her neck all the way down to the oversized shirt she wore. It cut through the fabric easily, not stopping until her entire front was exposed to the night air. She shivered as he used his other hand to touch her intimately.

"Hm...Not my usual, but it'll have to do," the man muttered.

Katy was forced to lay there as he did his administrations-otherwise, he would kill her.

_Sasuke...Please help me!_ she prayed silently. She didn't care if he was out of it. She wanted him to save her.

XXX

Sasuke wandered around the town in a daze, unaware of his surroundings. He ignored everything around him, ignoring as people happily went on with their lives while his felt like it just ended.

How could the world still be so happy? How could life still go on when all he knew was crashing around him? Sasuke felt as if he could never be happy again.

Since that day he remembered the massacre, he felt as if nothing made sense anymore. Sasuke had prepared himself mentally for when he would remember the massacre, but when it actually came he was nothing but a child. He could only remember how useless he was as he watched all of his family members be killed in front of his eyes. How he could do nothing but stand by as all of their blood stained the ground. They were all dead...because of _him_.

Why did Itachi's arrival have to do this to him? Because of him, he remembered something he never wanted to remember. He was happy not knowing how he killed their parents in such a way. Anger rose up in him at the very image of him standing over their parents without remorse before it faded into sadness. Itachi had to do it. He was ordered to, and Sasuke understood this but...He felt as if he could never forgive him for what he's done. He wanted to forgive him seeing as how he was his only living relative left, yet couldn't find it in himself to do it. Not yet.

Sasuke hated these emotions he was feeling. They were crushing his very soul, preventing it from being to what it once was. He wanted to smile again and worry about his friends and have fun again. But, how could he when these stifling feelings he harboured were chained to him like an anchor. These past few weeks he spent training were in attempts to smother those feelings. Losing himself into the beautiful oblivion of hurt and pain was such a relief. He thought he could screen them with the exhaustion he felt all the time so they were more durable. Apparently not.

_Whatever_, he thought. He'll just have to try harder the next day. For now all he wanted was to sleep and hope he wouldn't dream tonight.

As Sasuke walked through town in a daze with everyone passing him off in favor of the night activities, he soon heard a commotion up ahead. Lifting his gaze from the floor, he noticed at the end of the street a small group of ninjas were gathered around a young woman. The woman, he vaguely thought, had seen better days. Her dress, which must have looked nice on her, was torn down the front, barely covering her white bra. Make-up ran down the woman's eyes wide in front.

"Please, you have to help me! Someone's in trouble from my boyfriend!" she pleaded, gripping one of the men's arms desperately.

The man put his hands on her shoulders gently. "Ma'am, please calm down. You aren't making much sense. Who's in trouble?"

"I told you! A little girl about thirteen years old helped me escape from being raped by my boyfriend! She's alone there and I'm afraid he'll try to rape her!"

"And what did this girl look like?"

"I don't know! She had short black hair, I think, but it was hard to tell. The only thing I know is that she was wearing a shirt with this strange red and white fan symbol on her back! Please, you have to help her!" the woman cried hysterically.

"Do you think she's bluffing? I mean, it's not possible that someone was wearing the Uchiha symbol," another ninja replied.

"I don't know. She's not in her right mind."

The mention of his family symbol brought him out of his stupor. What? There was someone wearing his clan's symbol? What kind of idiot would want to piss him off by wearing that in public? Sasuke had no idea until the woman's earlier words came up to mind.

_Short black hair...Wearing a shirt with the Uchiha symbol on her back..._ Sasuke wondered. It took him awhile to realize what other person wore that clothing. _Katy!_

No. The woman couldn't be talking about Katy, could she? Katy wasn't capable of protecting a woman from rape much less herself. Still, he couldn't stop the dread that pressed down on him. He wandered closer to the group, watching the woman become furious.

"I'm not kidding! That little girl shot flames out from her mouth and saved me from being raped! How can you just stand there when she's in trouble?" she screeched.

"Excuse me, miss," Sasuke said, approaching the group. All eyes turned on him. "This girl you're talking about...she wouldn't happen to be wearing this symbol on her back, would she?" He turned around, showing his clan symbol on his back.

She gasped. "That's it! The girl was wearing that on her back!"

"Where is she now?" Sasuke demanded. He started to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"She's at the old park near here no one goes to with my boyfriend. Why are you-"

She never finished her sentence before Sasuke shot off towards that direction. He became concerned at her earlier words about how her boyfriend could rape that little girl, who he knew by now must have been Katy. He hoped to God she wasn't right.

With his incredible speed Sasuke soon found himself at the park the woman spoke of. Heart pounding, he glanced around the old park through the dark to find any sight of her. Although the streetlights were on, he couldn't see much. Quietly, he inched closer and closer to the park keeping his eyes out for anything. Once he was by the edge of the woods, he heard something that made his heart squeeze.

Moans, grunts, and crying.

Sasuke followed the sounds to the edge of the forest to the bushes where he found something that made his blood boil.

Katy was pushed against a tree trunk by a man twice her size, silently crying her eyes out. What pushed Sasuke off the edge was that she had no shirt on and the only sense of decency she had were her bra and boy shorts-the only thing keeping her from losing something valuable. And she was dangerously close to losing her two last barriers by how the man against her was kissing her closer and closer to that region as his hands snaked around her back-

And it snapped.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! GET OFF HER!"

Chakra gathered rapidly to his eyes and his right hand. The sound of chirping birds sliced through the air, catching the attention of the two. The man turned his head to Sasuke, his eyes widening at the frightening sight of the boy. He had no idea what happened until he saw him move. Sasuke tackled the man, thrusting his hand in front of him. The hand connected to his right shoulder, the electric currents zapping him. Before Sasuke knew it, he was standing over the fallen man, who twitched greatly in his unconsciousness.

"Bastard's lucky I won't bother to waste my chakra on the likes of him," he spat angrily, Sharingan spinning wildly in his eyes. He was beyond pissed he would do something like that to a young girl. What kind of sicko would do that? He felt the urge to kill the man just to rid the world of him until he heard his name.

"S-Sasuke."

He whirled around at the sound of his name. The anger in him faded as he looked down at Katy, who had curled up into a ball to cover herself. Her wide wet eyes were so open and vulnerable-one's he would never forget after that night. Sasuke dropped to his knees in front of her, reaching out to hold her. She began to cry loudly as soon as she was in his protective embrace.

"T-That was so scary!" she sobbed, snuggling closer to him as if to hide from the world. "I-I thought I was going to-And he was going to...!" Her sobbing effectively ceased any chances of her talking for awhile.

"Stop crying. You're safe now. I'm not going to let anything hurt you," Sasuke found himself saying. As he spoke those words he soon realized, Itachi wasn't his only living relative left. Not by blood, at least, although she could be considered it. How could he been so blind? Katy was like a sister to him and he wasn't even there in her desperate time of need.

Sasuke would never forgive himself if he lost her.

XXX

Much later that night, the two found themselves back home in Sasuke's bed. The lights were off and everything locked up tight. After what happened, Sasuke had carried Katy home before any officials came to investigate what happened. Katy lay curled up against him, almost afraid to be away from him. Not that he minded. He swore he was never going to let her out of his sight again.

He watched Katy shift under the covers. She had this strange sleeping habit. Every time someone is in the bed with her, she tends to move her legs in the other person's to get some sense of warmth. She often found herself cold during the night even with the blankets. Such as he always hugged the nearest object in his sleep. He heard her light breathing almost telling him she was asleep.

Sasuke sighed inwardly. What a night. He knew he was in some kind of state for the past three weeks, but he never expected the thing to snap him out was Katy almost getting raped. He felt like a failure. How could he ignore her and everything else because he was depressed? He was a fool for not looking after her; otherwise, this night could have been avoided.

"Sasuke?" He glanced down to see Katy's wide eyes. Because it was dark, he could see her dull red eyes accented by the red rims of her tears. "Are you okay now?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? YOU were the one to almost get raped," he quietly said. He didn't flinch at the slap on his arm.

"You know what I mean!" she said, voice hoarse from crying so much. "...Do you want to talk about it?"

At first Sasuke said nothing. She almost expected him to never say anything and for him to drop it.

"...He killed my entire family," he said in a low voice.

Katy blinked owlishly. "Who, Itachi? You already know he did."

"But I _saw_ him kill them. I ...saw it myself. In a memory."

"Oh, Sasuke." Katy didn't know what to say. She never thought he would remember that memory that day. To think he must have remembered that tragic memory of seeing everyone he loved killed right before his eyes...How terrible. "I had no idea. I'm sorry."

"No. It's fine. You didn't know."

"But why were you so out of it? I know I would hate to remember something like that and not get over it, but you were like a zombie these past few weeks." That was an understatement. He was shell of what he was during those weeks.

His face screwed together in despair of the thought.

"It's Itachi. He...I'm so conflicted about how I should feel about him. I don't know whether I'm pissed, sad, or happy to see him again."

"Why?" she asked in confusion.

"You have no idea what I felt when I saw him again after that memory. He killed our entire family and I remember it like it was in the series. I should be pissed he did something like that regardless of what he was told to do! Yet...I don't. I feel like I should be happy to see him! He's my older brother! I should be happy I have someone of my blood around, but I can't when every time I remember him standing over our parents' corpses!" He closed his eyes, almost as if he were to start crying. He rested his cheek on the top of her head as a means to not let her see the tears. "What should I feel about him?"

Katy sighed, blowing her bangs away from her eyes. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. You're right that you should be pissed he killed the clan and left you alive, but don't you remember what we learned in the series? Itachi kept you alive despite the task set on him! He cared about you too much to let you die and he never forgave himself for what he did. And the Uchiha didn't even know until it was too late. You deserve to feel angry, but Itachi doesn't deserve to be hated by you, right? What you have to do is decide whether or not you love him enough to forget or forgive for what he's done."

Sasuke was silent for awhile. He was probably thinking about what she was saying and she didn't mind. He had a lot of things to think about. If it were her in his position, she would know to forgive him and love him despite not understanding what that meant. But it wasn't her. This was Sasuke she was talking to. It wasn't her place to tell him what he should do.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Sasuke commented, moving to show her his small grin.

"Well, you've been a zombie for the past few weeks. Someone had to act as the smart one between the two of us," Katy replied, smiling.

"Oh, really? Then was it your 'smart' idea to learn how to use a fire jutsu?"

"Hey! I was getting tired of being useless in a fight. Plus, I learned the Grand Fireball jutsu in two weeks! That just proves I'm a part of your family."

"But you're not an Uchiha. You're only my annoying friend."

"And you know you can't live without me," she reminded him, grinning.

He chuckled, closing his eyes. She was right. He couldn't live without her.

Sasuke could only realize that now.

* * *

Whew! Another one up! I really hope I can finish this story soon since school's going to be starting in a few weeks. I can't believe I started this story in my sophmore year and I'm going into senior year. Time sure flies by fast. Because of school, I wasn't even able to update at all last year. Too hectic. I don't know what people mean by their senior year being fun since I asked all my older cousins what their senior year was like. They said it was fun. Yeah right. For my senior year I'm going to be too busy worrying about the community based project I'm forced to do in order to even walk at graduation. Damn my school. I just hope all my creativity won't be sucked out to not write my stories.

Okay, I'll stop whining right now. Please review!

-Twilit Angel


	32. Fever and a visit

**Remembering what was Forgotten**

Chapter 32

"Keep the thermometer under your tongue and keep it there," Katy instructed Sasuke. She put a hand to his forehead as he lay under the covers of his bed. His cheeks were flushed with heat.

Today was not a good day for Sasuke. The only reason what made it so bad was the fact he was sick. Sick! And by a stupid fever as well. More than anything, he knew it was his own damn fault he was sick. For the past four weeks he had pushed his body to its limits to the point where his immune system couldn't stop a fever. Not to mention all the stress of training and missions he, Sakura, Haku, and Naruto after he returned a week before went on in order to help improve the village funds. He could defeat a giant man wielding an axe, but succumbed to a stupid fever.

Katy took the thermometer out of his mouth. She raised an eyebrow when looking at it and shook it. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Sorry, Sasuke. Even though this thermometer is outdated, it says you have a fever. It went up over the night so you can't go on missions today."

"Damn it," Sasuke groaned. He closed his eyes and burrowed deeper in the blankets. "I don't get it. How can I be the one to get so sick I can barely move when you're the one who spent two weeks swimming at night?"

"It was not swimming! It was learning chakra control," Katy huffed. She told Sasuke about her training she's done while he was in his zombie-state. He laughed when she told him about taking off her clothes at night in order not to get them wet. "I think you have a cold. You know, it's you're fault you over exhausted your body enough to make you catch a cold."

"Shut...up." He tried to sound harsh, but didn't have the energy to even yell at her much less tell her off.

"Katy, is Sasuke all right?" asked Haku, entering the room. He walked over to Sasuke's bed, glancing at Sasuke shivering under his covers.

"Nope. He's sick, so he can't go on the mission today."

"What about you? You haven't been looking well lately, either." He eyed her with concern, then lifted his hand to her forehead. Instantly, her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "You feel a little cold. And you seem a little pale as well."

Katy waved off his hand, turning her head away. "I'm fine. I'm not as sick as Sasuke, though. Maybe I should take the day off from work to watch over him. He's too sick to even call me names or to tell me off."

"Do you want me to stay as well?"

"No, don't," Sasuke moaned. He opened one blurry eye to glare at the two. "You two go off to work. I'll be fine here by myself." He inwardly cursed at his weak voice. He hated sounding weak to others.

"Fine? For the whole day?" Katy said in disbelief. "Sasuke, I won't be home until seven tonight and Haku and your team won't be back from their mission until tomorrow since they're going out of the village. Are you sure you'll be fine?"

He gave a small nod, visibly shivering under the hot blanket. That made Katy unsure whether or not to leave him alone for six hours, but even while he was sick he'd try and force her to go back to work. She didn't want to make himself sicker. Finally, she nodded.

"Fine. We'll go. Just make sure to get plenty of sleep and drink a lot of water," she informed him. While she was telling him this Haku had walked out of the room and came back a few seconds later with a cold wet cloth. He placed it on Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke sighed in relief. "I made some soup for you to heat up and eat if you can manage to make it out of bed. After you're done, leave the dishes in the sink and go straight to bed. Okay? Am I forgetting anything?"

"Other than sleep, he'll be fine," Haku informed her.

"Okay. Have fun at work and missions," he said in a weak, sarcastic voice. This made both Katy and Haku smile.

"Have fun sleeping all day."

Katy leaned down and kissed Sasuke on the cheek in sisterly affection. After the little incident the week before (and one they shall never mention again), they had grown closer than ever before. She stood to her feet, but stumbled and swooned where she stood as if she were about to faint. Haku grabbed her arm before she actually fell. Sasuke was too hot and distracted to notice.

"Katy! Are you okay?" he asked, steadying her. Katy soon waved him off, blinking repeatedly.

"Whoa...I just got a little dizzy for a second." She shook her head, then smiled to ease his worried expression. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Let's go to work, shall we?"

Haku rolled his eyes, smiling. He could never quite understand how she managed to be so carefree. Her smile eased his concern, but not entirely. He bowed to her at the waist and held out his arm. "Well, then, my lady. Shall we get going?"

"Let's!" Katy giggled, grabbing his arm. Together, the two of them walked out of the room while Sasuke stared at them strangely as they did.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Closing his eyes, his last coherent thought before he drifted off to sleep was, _I have such weird friends._

_"Oh, Sasuke-chan, you're sick," Mikoto realized, feeling the forehead of her seven year old son. Said son was lying in his bed, shivering from the chills of the cold he caught. Mikoto had gone up to awaken her son for school but saw his flushed face. That was how she realized he was sick. His coughs proved that point._

_"Mom, I'm fine." Sasuke coughed for a few seconds. He was lying to both himself and his mother. He wasn't fine. He felt hot all over and cold at the same time, his nose was stuffed, and he was so dizzy. The only reason why he was lying was because they were learning a new jutsu in class that day and he didn't want to be condemned to taking _medicine_. He sat up to get out of bed, but a wave of dizziness fell upon him and he flopped back down to his pillows. Okay, he wasn't going to do THAT any time soon. "I-I'm fine."_

_Mikoto nearly rolled her eyes. "No, you aren't fine. You're staying home today. You stay in bed while I bring you breakfast and give you medicine after."_

_Sasuke's eyes widened and pulled the covers over his head._

_"Mom, it's not going to be the liquid medicine, is it?"_

_"Yes, Sasuke, it is." Mikoto stood to her feet and went to get his breakfast and medicine. Sasuke was forced to lay there, dreading what he knew was to come. A few minutes later, his mother reappeared with a tray containing a plate of onigiri, rice, and eggs. There was also a glass of water and a dark bottle containing what he despised the most. His eyes had brightened up at the food, but dimmed back down at the sight of the medicine. He shivered, absolutely terrified. She put the tray of food on his lap. "Eat up, Sasu-chan, so you can take your medicine."_

_Sasuke glanced from the food to the bottle and back again. He knew that if he finished his food he would be forced to take the awful medicine. Maybe if he ate slowly he could prolong taking it. However, one look at his mother's pretty face and eyes staring straight at him made him know what his mother was trying to say._

_'Hurry up and take the medicine._

_He suddenly felt afraid of his mother and began to eat. He wanted to eat slowly, but Mikoto was sending him looks that told him to hurry up. It was like she _wanted _ to give him the God awful medicine. How evil of her. Sooner than he liked, he finished all of his food. He shivered from both the chills and the thought of taking medicine. It was time for it._

_Mikoto picked up the bottle and a spoon. She poured out the contents of the bottle onto the spoon. Sasuke felt his stomach drop at the sight of the orangey-reddish liquid filling the spoon and almost gagged. She held out the spoon for him._

_"Here, Sasuke. That will make you get better."_

_He quickly shook his head, clamping both hands over his tight-lipped mouth. His eyes were wide in fear._

_"Sasuke, you're too old to be refusing medicine," Mikoto sighed. Here they go again. She knew her sons hated their own family remedy dubbed 'the Uchiha family remedy.' Who didn't? The Uchiha family remedy was a medicine that was creates at the beginnings of Konoha. It wad made by an Uchiha medic in order to lower the symptoms of the common illnesses like a cold. It worked effectively, but there was a problem. It tasted horrible. It was made of effective, but bitter herbs, and the medic threw in the taste of cherries and oranges to make it sweeter in taste. That didn't work at all as it made the medicine even more disgusting in taste. Every person in the clan had to take it at some point of their childhood. None of them liked it very much and as they grew older, they forced their own children to take it. It was family traditon. _

_What's worse was that Sasuke hated all kinds of liquid medicine. He hated it and refused to take it since he was an toddler. When Sasuke was three he caught a cold like then and they tried to get him to take medicine. He refused each time they tried and he would cry and throw a tantrum. She didn't want to force him to take it so she tried when he calmed down. It didn't work and by night his cold got worse and he had to be taken to the hospital. There, the medics practically forced the medicine down his throat. He's hated all liquid medicine ever since._

_Again, Sasuke shook his head, whimpering and sniffling. He looked like he was about to burst into tears._

_"Mother?" Itachi appeared at the doorway, peeking inside. He was about to head down to breakfast when seeing his little brother about to vpcry in the open room. He walked into the room, wondering what Sasuke was still doing at home and near tears. "Why is Sasuke still home?"_

_Mikoto turned to her eldest son and that was when he saw the bottle and spoon. "Sasuke's sick so he can't go to school. He won't take the medicine."_

_Itachi paled at the medicine._

_"The Uchiha family remedy?"_

_She nodded._

_"I see." He, too, understood why Sasuke refused the medicine. It was obvious everyone hated it. It was worse when Sasuke hated liquid medicine to begin with. "Little brother, it would be best if you took the medicine and be done with it," he advised._

_Sasuke shook his head._

_Itachi sighed and sat on the bed next to Sasuke. Sasuke didn't understand what he was doing until he lighky jabbed him in his tickle spot on his side. He tried not to laugh, but Itachi was tickling him there. He removed his hands from his hand and burst out laughing to suddenly gag when the spoon of syrup was forced past his lips. He sputtered to try to spit it out, yet was stopped by Itachi clamping his hand over his mouth. Sasuke quickly swallowed to not taste it. Itachi let go of him and he gagged._

_"Gross, Nii-san! Why did you do that?" Sasuke cried, spitting to be rid of the horrible taste._

_"would you rather go to the hospital again to have it forced down your throat?" Itachi asked in a serious tone._

_Sasuke shook his head, laying back down. He may not remember going to the hospital but he did remember crying a lot from being forced the way he was. He didn't want that._

_"I thought so." He stood back up and walked out of the room to get breakfast._

_Mikoto took the tray and bottle and followed Itachi to leave Sasuke sleep. She didn't think forcing Sasuke to take the medicine like that was going to work all the time. She would have ti come up with a new way to get him to take the medicine whether he liked it or not._

Sasuke woke up two hours later with a sore and scratchy throat. He coughed to try and get rid of the tickle in the back of his throat. That didn't work, so he decided to get a glass of water to get rid of it.

He threw back the blanket to instantly shiver. The air was making him cold despite it being the middle of spring. He slowly got out of bed to not have the room spin so much, and walked downstairs into the kitchen. All the while he shivered from being so cold even when he wad wearing a long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants. How could it be so damn cold? And how could his head hurt so much? He had a headache right now and wad making the hallway spin. Sasuke held onto the held to rest and closed his eyes to stop the spinning. That didn't help. It only made everything go vertigo. His body gave out and he slid to the ground. He blacked before his head hit the ground.

_"Sasuke," Mari called, opening the door to her ten year old son's room. She entered the slightly cluttered room filled with toys, books, and clothes on the carpet with a ten year old Katy right behind her. Mari went over to the bed where Sasuke lay curled up to retain body heat. She felt his forehead to find it hot and she grew concerned. "Are you warm enough?"_

_He nodded, shivering. "I'm fine. I'm just...really cold."_

_Mari bit her lip. Sasuke had been sick for only a day. She thought that such a low fever would go away on its on. However, she was proved wrong, so it looked like she would need to give him medicine. "Okay. I'm going to give you medicine now, alright?"_

_"Okay." For some reason he shivered at the word 'medicine.'_

_She nodded and exited the room to get some Tylenol for him. While she went to do that, Katy climbed onto the bed and sat beside him. She stared at the sick boy curiously. He soon grew irritated._

_"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" he snapped, coughing for a few seconds._

_"Wow, you must be really sick," Katu stated. "You're much crabbier than usual and you can't even manage to sound mean."_

_"Of course I'm sick! I've been playing out in the rain with you for the past two days. Besides," he added. He raised a suspicous eye at her, "why am I the one sick in bed and you aren't?"_

_She smiled brightly._

_"Oh, I don't get sick very much. I try but all I can managed is coughing and a stuffy nose. I usually don't even get a fever on some cases."_

_He glared weakly at her. Lucky. It seemed like he was the one who always managed to get sick in some way. He always had a headache, he always managed to get small fevers, and he ALWAYS caught colds. Stupid body and its weak defenses._

_"You know, it's your fault that you do too much that made you sick," Katy stated, sniffling. "You're always trying too hard on things that need small effort."_

_"And it's your fault that you made me play in the rain with you and made me sick!" Sasuke groaned, closing his eyes. His head hurt so much._

_Katy saw him hold his head in pain. She snapped her mouth shut, careful to not make a loud noise that would make his heard hurt more. Maybe he needed to take medicine for that._

_As if on cue, Mari walked into the room with a bottle of liquid Tylenol in hand. She went to Sasuke's bedside and opened the bottle to pour out he right amount into a small measuring cup. When there was the right amount she shook him gently on the shoulder. "Sasuke, don't go to sleep yet. Take your medicine now, and then you can sleep."_

_Sasuke cracked open one eye to see the medicine and his eye widened. It was a liquid medicine. He swallowed faintly, feeling like he was going to gag at the sight of it. He pressed his lips together and shook his head._

_"What's wrong?" asked Mari, not quite understanding. Why did he look so scared? She noticed that he was looking at her hand in fear. Following his eyes, they were on the cup and bottle. She then understood. "You don't want to take it?"_

_He shook his head. "I don't like that kind of medicine. Not the liquid ones."_

_She sighed and held it out to him._

_"Sasuke, please take it. It will make you get better."_

_He shook his head again, but paused mid-shake when seeing his foster mother's pleading, tear-filled eyes._

_"Please take it. It will make me feel better knowing you'll get well."_

_When seeing her eyes he felt guilty. He hated that look in her brown eyes. She was his mom and she shouldn't cry over something lime this. It was even worse when it was his fault she cried. Sighing, he pulled himself into a sitting position. He reluctantly took the cup from her, which made her tears disappear. Staring at the syrup, he grimaced. Ugh. He was going to hate this. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to gulp down the evil medicine. Of course, he gagged but forced himself to swallow it. After what seemed like forever, he finished the cup's contents while making a disgusted face._

_"Ugh, nasty!"_

_"Thank you, Sasuke. I'll get you some ice cream, okay?" Mari smiled and ran her hand through his hair. He smiled as she did so. She kept the medicine bottle at his bedside table just in case he needed to take it again. Then, she left the room to get ice cream for both Sasuke and Katy._

_"So...You didn't want to take the medicine, did you?" Katy guessed as she watched Sasuke spit and wipe his tongue of the revolting medicine._

_He glared at her. "Of course not. But I had to for Mom."_

_"You're such a Mama's boy, Sasuke."_

_He didn't respond to that and pulled the blankets over his head. Katy was basically right. He WAS a mama's boy. He loved Mari. She was the only family he had and he would do anything to make her happy. Anything._

"Mom..." Sasuke woke up again to a warm hand on his forehead. It was gentle and loving-the way both his mother's touched him. He slowly opened his eyes to have tears slide down the corners of his eyes. He blinked them away, sniffling. He missed Mari at times likes this. She would be so motherly and gentle to him whenever he gets sick. More tears gathered in his eyes. Konoha may have been his home, but he missed his home with Mari. He was homesick for the first time in months. "Mom..."

"So you do miss Mother," a new low voice sounded in the room. It was a voice Sasuke would know in an instant.

He quickly blinked away his tears and focused his vision. His vision coming back, he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eyes. Turning his head slowly to not get dizzy, his eyes widened considerably when he saw Itachi sitting on the edge of his bed. Speaking of which, he also noticed he was back in his bedroom lying under the covers again. How did he get there? His survival instincts kicked in as he jumped out of the bed and put as much distance between him and the intruder. However, be soon regretted it when the room spun. Swooning, he managed to catch himself on his dresser before he fell.

"I-Itachi? What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded. Again, he cursed his weak voice as it barely came out hoarse. He wanted to be intimidating in front of his murderous older brother instead of looking weak.

"I came to check up on you," Itachi asked in that same emotionless tone of his, but Sasuke could hear he was at least trying to sound gentle like he once was. Which confused him a lot. Itachi sighed when he saw Sasuke glancing around him for some kind of weapon to protect himself. "Do not bother. I am not here to harm you."

"Then why _are_ you here?" Sasuke snapped. He was getting a headache again. There was no way he was letting his guard done around someone who betrayed him and left him alone.

"There are many reasons as to why I am here, foolish little brother. However," his grey eyes sweeper over the room and out the window where there was a wall with the clan symbol on it, "I am curious as to why you returned to the one place that holds many terrible memories. And with two other people as well."

"Why would I not live here? And what terrible memories?" He was more confused than usual with the headache clouding his mind. What memories? There was only one he currently remembered and that was...Anger rose up within him as he began to shake. Squeezing his eyes closed, he suppressed that anger. Okay, no need to get angry just yet. He needed his answers first. He opened his eyes to glare at Itachi. "If you're talking about the massacre, I had no idea about that until I saw you again for the first time in five years. I could've gone on living if I didn't remember you standing over our parents' corpses!"

Itachi stared at him in mild shock. His deep, endless eyes looked into his own angry ones. There was a silence between them. For once Sasuke was proud of this. He was probably the only one to shock his brother enough to actually show it. The pride quickly faded when Itachi smirked and chuckled. Sasuke was shocked. He was hearing his brother laugh for what seemed like forever.

"So I was right," he chuckled. "You can't remember anything from our childhood, can you? My plan worked."

Sasuke was shell shocked for only a moment. Then, he thought he saw red. How dare he smirk like that! He thought this was a good thing? "Yeah, if you mean taking away my past and throwing me somewhere I was scared shitless by myself, then your plan worked!" he said in the most sarcastic tone he could muster. He growled. "Why the hell did you send me away and leave me alone? Do you have any idea how much I wondered if I had any family and if they loved me? Then I come back to find out they were all killed by you!"

"You don't understand. I had to do it," Itachi answered calmly. This only forced Sasuke to grow even angrier.

"Don't give me that bullshit! Do not even tell me you killed our entire family for the sake of the village! I don't care you had to become a missing-nin and joined the fucking Akatsuki! What I want to know is why you thought it would be better to send me to another dimension _by myself_ and taking away my memories!" Sasuke yelled, his voice cracking. His eyes stung as he pushed back the urge to activate the Sharingan.

"What are you talking about?"

"I was sent to another dimension where everything here is nothing but entertainment to other people. One where I found out why you killed our clan and why you left me alive!" Sasuke openly laughed at Itachi, who tensed in alarm. "Didn't see that coming, did you? Not everything goes according to plan, does it now?"

Itachi stood up, closing his eyes while taking several deep breaths. He opened his eyes again and looked at Sasuke sternly. "Explain what you mean. I do not understand what you are talking about."

_Wow, Itachi's confused. That's a first._ Sasuke shook his head of that random thought. Once seeing Itachi looking confused, he forced himself to calm down. He needed to decide with a level head whether he should tell his brother that he knew their future or not. He told the Third Hokage and he was the only person who knew the truth. After he died, there was no one else he trusted enough to tell. He thought it would be a secret he would take to the grave until now. Should he tell Itachi? Itachi WAS the one who sent him to that other dimension in the first place. And he did it to protect him. He knew why Itachi did what he did, but he didn't understand why he thought it was better to send him away without his memories. He thought about what Katy told him once he snapped out of his state. Sasuke thought long and hard about what he felt about Itachi, and realized he was angry that his older brother left him alone more than the fact he killed the clan. However, he knew he could never hate Itachi for killing their clan. Never. With that thought Sasuke decided.

"Itachi, do you remember how you used that weird jutsu to send me away while you took away my memories? And, yes, I remember that," he sighed as Itachi narrowed his eyes. He slowly nodded. "What I'm about to tell you is what happened after. It's something that helped me out in the long run."

Sasuke began to tell Itachi his long story. He explained how Mari adopted him, and how he grew up being somewhat normal. He also told him how Katy was his first best friend and was practically like a sister to him. Then, he explained how the Shinobi world was actually a form entertainment in that normal world. As proof, he handed Itachi one of his Naruto volumes to look at. Itachi started to flip through the book with a curious eyes as Sasuke began to tell him about how he and Katy suddenly arrived there and how he found out he was an Uchiha. He went through that they planned to change everything and what's happened. One of the final things he told his brother was that Katy was an experiment of Orochimaru, because she took his place as the snake's host body in the end only to escape.

"That girl was an experiment and managed to escape?" asked Itachi, amused at the idea.

Sasuke nodded. "She's paid hell in order to not let me get marked. Honestly, I don't think I would still be here if it weren't for her and vice versa." He rolled his eyes. That girl was a walking trouble magnet. She could walk into a shop and be kidnapped or something. Thank God he and Haku started to teach her some self-defense. He sobered at the next thought of the situation. He looked down at his hands in his lap where he sat back on the bed earlier during his explanation. "Itachi, can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Why did you do it? Why did you send me away other than leaving me here like in the series?" he asked. He glanced up to his brother's face with hurt in his eyes. "Ever since I remembered that memory, all I could think about was why you thought it was better if you sent me away without remembering anything. Why did you think it was better to not remember you were my brother?"

Itachi sighed, snapping the Naruto volume in his hands. "I _did_ think about leaving you to hate me as you said happened in that book said," he started, "but when I saw how much I hurt you, both mentally and emotionally, I knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't abandon you to lead a life of hatred like I planned. Instead, I decided you better off not remembering anything and starting a new life somewhere else. Although, I never thought that jutsu would send you somewhere where you would know anyway. I also did not expect you to return. You were never supposed to come back and live a normal life like I thought you would."

"Yeah, and look how that turned how," Sasuke snorted. "I grew up with no other friends except for Katy and was teased by other kids for looking exactly like a fictional character. Not to mention my thirty-three year old foster mother was always being harassed by perverted men of all ages and I had to protect her."

"That may have happened, but at least you managed to live with it. Sasuke, you told me about what may have happened to you if I went through with my original plan. Would you rather live alone and always seeking revenge rather than risking your life for others?" Itachi questioned.

"No, I guess not. I would have never met Mari if you did go through with it." He suddenly smiled. "I would have never met someone who would find me off the street and take me in with no regret. Did you know she tried different methods to try and get me to remember stuff? She tried hypnosis and other stuff to get me to remember." He had to bit back a laugh when he remembered how she swung a pocket watch in front of his face while chanting 'You will remember!' She seemed so serious, too. He grew silent as he thought of his foster mother. "She must be so lonely...It's been almost a year since I disappeared..."

Itachi noticed how Sasuke grew silent and depressed at the thought of his foster mother. He must have really liked that woman. "You were talking about her when you were in tears earlier, weren't you?"

"I was. I can't remember our own mother much except for her smiles and voice. Before I knew about my past and even now, I always thought she was my real mom. She's done so much for me and I could only repay her for her kindness by being her son. I'm all that she has left. She had no one before me. If she lost me, I wouldn't know what would happen to her. I hate making her sad. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's making her cry when it's my fault."

"If you miss her so much, why do you not return?"

"I would if I could," sighed Sasuke heavily. "But I don't know how to get back. I don't even know how we ended up back here in the first place so how could I go back? And even if I could, I would only use it on Katy to get her back home. She can't stay here if Orochimaru's after. I have to stay for the sake of the village. After all," he grinned up at Itachi, "I'm a Konoha shinobi now. I want to make sure to protect the village my brother tried so hard to protect."

Itachi gave a tiny smile. So his little brother truly did understand what he did for the peace of the village. If his original plan to keep him in the village happened instead, his little brother would never know what he did for their village. He wouldn't be the understanding boy lying there with a grin. He made the right choice to send him away no matter how much it killed him.

"Well said, Otouto," he approved. "But just for curiousity's sake, if you found the jutsu to send your friend home, would you learn it?"

"Of course! But I can't since I don't know who..." Sasuke trailed off. He started to think about what he said. He may not be a genius like his brother, but he knew a hidden motive when he knew one. His eyes widened, brightening up. "You'll teach me the jutsu? Wait, do you even still remember it?"

"Yes, I still remember it. But I have to teach it to you today. I cannot stay very long in the village."

"You're not staying?"

Itachi shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I am a missing-nin and even if you know I cannot tell anyone the truth about the massacre. That secret is to be taken to the grave. Do you understand?"

Sasuke nodded, frowning. Itachi was right. They couldn't let anyone know of their family's hate-filled past or their former plans. The Third Hokage made Itachi swear not to tell anyone of the true intentions of the massacre, and he was always a man of his word. It was just sad he couldn't see his brother in public anymore like when they were kids. He wanted to know more about his brother rather than what he already knew. He wanted them to start all over.

Itachi rubbed the top of Sasuke's head, snapping him out of his daze. He looked up to see him smiling. "I'll try to visit as much as I can," he promised. "For now, let's worry about learning that jutsu _after_ you take your medicine."

Sasuke paled, gulping.

"The Uchiha family remedy?"

Itachi blinked.

"You remember that?" he asked. When he nodded he raised an eyebrow. "What else do you remember?"

"Other than being forced to take the evil medicine, I remember that creepy doll we got when we were younger," Sasuke answered, shivering.

"Do you mean Oni? Is he still in the house?"

"I have no idea..." Sasuke's gaze went back to his open door when he noticed a movement there. His eyes widened when he saw something frighteningly familiar. Itachi followed his eyes and his eyes grew slightly wide as well. "Holy shit!"

There, standing at the doorway, was the evil doll Sasuke remembered. To his horror the doll still looked the same as it did years ago. The two brothers stood still, horrified to see their childhood menace back. It was a bit smaller than Sasuke remembered, but the fact that the doll was _there_ forced him to take no note of that. The doll stared at the two with the same red eyes, not making a move. Sasuke didn't say anything in fear it would attack. After awhile, the doll turned and continued to walk down the hall as if nothing happened. Sasuke couldn't help but gape and feel relieved and slightly afraid.

"Well," Itachi said after recovering. "That answers my question." He turned to Sasuke with narrowed eyes. "We never saw that. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Sasuke hid under his blankets while Itachi went to fetch the family remedy, both feeling weary and cautious if that evil doll came back to haunt them both again.

Some things never changed.

* * *

Okay, here's the next chapter! I don't have much to say except to inform you that due to school _again_ I will more than likely not update within the same month. I may be tired from doing the community service project I'm being forced to do in order to graduate (curse senior year!) and other stuff. It's only the fourth day today and I feel like I'm going to die from exhaustion. Oh, and I have a little random question. Which is better to do? Learn how to play an instrument when you don't know how to sight read music or to sing? I really want to know because I have to choose between learning how to play an instrument or to sing instead. And for some reason, it's like choosing the lesser of two evils.

Anyhoo, please review!

-Twilit Angel


	33. Examination

Chapter 33

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief as he watched Haku try to find Katy within her bedroom. He stood there, not wanting to get involved in an impossible task. Many times in the past he tried and failed to get Katy to do something she despised the most in the world: Going to the doctor's.

"Katy, come on! You need to go get a check up!" Haku yelled, searching Katy's room for her. He peered under the bed and groaned.

"She's not going to answer, you know," Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.

"Then why aren't you helping me look for her?"

"Because I know she doesn't want to go." He knew this by experience how Katy acts whenever she needed to go the hospital for check-ups. She would hide herself somewhere in the house to try not be found by her appointment time. It never worked, but apparently she thought it was worth a try.

Haku sighed in frustration. "Please help me find her. The new Hokage wants to check if she's alright."

Sasuke considered it for a moment. Since Tsunade came back to the village to become Hokage she eventually learned Katy was an experiment of Orochimaru's. Upon learning that she demanded a check-up to be done to see how much damage was done on her body as Orochimaru was infamous for being reckless in safety procedures. Having a trained medic as a right hand man didn't quell her fears either. Katy was afraid something could be wrong with her, but she literally hid herself when hearing she needed to have a doctor's appointment. He was pretty concerned himself about it now that he thought about it. He shrugged.

"Fine. I know a way to get her to come out. Just get some rope or wire ready."

"Why?"

"You'll see soon." Sasuke exited the room and a few minutes later came back with a notebook. Haku was confused why he had a notebook until he opened it. The notebook turned out to a sketchbook by all the drawings inside. Sasuke flipped through it and stopped at one page. Haku peeked over to see a drawing of a girl with shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a light purple dress with frills at the end of the skirt. To put it short the girl was cute. Sasuke noticed the astonished look and frowned. "Don't be fooled. This isn't a girl. It's a drawing of a guy in a dress."

Haku opened his mouth, then closed it. "I don't want to know."

"You really don't." If only he knew about the sketch designs Katy made specifically for him. Sasuke cleared his throat to drift away from awkward images. "Alright. Let's get this over with," he said. Then, he spoke in a loud clear voice. "Katy, you better get out here right now! Or else your only sketch of a Miss Cloud dress is going to meet a lighter!" He was met by silence, so he added. "Don't think I won't do it! Katon: Great Fireball Ju-"

"No!"

Before he could finish, he was tackled out of nowhere. He fell to the ground as the sketchpad was knocked out of his hand A weight settled on his chest, hands pounding on him.

"Don't you dare burn that sketch! I'm still working on it!" Katy growled, glaring down at him. She looked downright furious. Sasuke didn't care. He merely smirked.

"Haku, now!"

A rope appeared in his vision to catch her around the chest. Katy screeched as she was pulled off of him. Sasuke sat up in time to see Haku had her pinned on the ground with the rope tying her hands behind her back. She thrashed against him to no avail.

"No fair! You're stronger than me!" she growled.

"Life's not fair. Now, quit crying. You sound like a little kid," Sasuke said. He stood to his feet to walk over to her.

"I don't care if I sound like a little kid. I don't wanna go to that horrible place!"

"Suck it up." He grabbed the back of her shirt, dragging her out the door.

"No! Sasuke, let go of me! I don't want to go!" Katy screamed, flailing and struggling to break her bonds. The wire holding her down was tight, but not tight enough to hurt her. She was silenced by a glare Sasuke threw over his shoulder.

"Do you want me to tape your mouth shut, too? Because I _will _do it," he threatened.

She stayed silent. Katy knew the limits of Sasuke's temper could go. Currently, it was on the verge of seething. Reluctantly, she surrendered to him.

Sensing her surrender, he smirked in satisfaction and continued through the house to the entrance with Haku behind him. They paused at the door to put their shoes on. Katy yelped when Sasuke shoved her towards Haku. Luckily for her, he caught her in a bridle-style position.

"Ow! What the hell? You could've warned me!" she exclaimed.

He shrugged, walking out the door.

Haku sighed in exasperation. He was used to how differently Katy and Sasuke acted with each other compared to other people. He just wished they weren't so rough with each other. Shifting Katy so she was more comfortable in his arms he followed after Sasuke.

The three made their way through the Uchiha compound with barely a word spoken between them. Sasuke was the one leading the way without glancing behind him to know he was being followed. Haku did follow him, but not in the same silence. In his arms Katy was muttering curses at Sasuke for all he was worth and stating her plans of revenge. Even with her cursing it wasn't long before they were in the main district of the village, and eventually in front of Konoha Hospital. When they arrived Sasuke wasn't expecting to see all the genin their age there. He immediately spotted Sakura and Naruto, who noticed him as well.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sasuke asked, approaching the two.

"Tsunade wants all of the Genin to have a check-up to make sure we're healthy. She heard how some of us were in life-or-death situations already," said Sakura, shooting Naruto a look.

"It's not my fault Granny's so paranoid," Naruto muttered.

"A check-up?" Haku asked, astonished.

"Yes, didn't you know?" Sakura asked.

"No, we only knew about a check-up for this one," said Sasuke, gesturing to Katy.

"Ha! So I'm not the only one who needs a check-up," cried Katy, smug.

"Yeah, but we're getting one because we do. Unlike someone who was experimented on by a certain snake."

"Huh. So this is the infamous experiment escapee we've heard so much about?" Kiba said, walking towards them. Right behind him were the rest of the Genins, who wandered over to see what was going on. He drew closer to Haku to where Katy was and eyed her.

She grimaced. "Back off, dog breath! Haven't you heard of personal space?"

"She's energetic, I'll give her that much," Shikamaru yawned.

"Yeah, you'd think being experimented on would make her quiet," Chouji commented, munching on a bag of chips.

Katy flushed. Were they insulting her? So what if she was energetic? She had to be when everything around her screamed either scary or depressing. Only two weeks ago she got Sasuke to be his normal self again and that was a lot of work. She opened her mouth to say something until she saw someone she didn't want to see again.

"She doesn't look like much for an experiment," Ino said, peering closer towards Katy. She frowned, a strange emotion flashing in her eyes. "She looks familiar…Have I seen you before?" she asked her.

"Uh, no! No, not at all! Never seen you before," Katy said in a higher voice than usual. Haku, Sakura, and Naruto stared at her strangely wondering what she was doing. Sasuke did as well at first but then he saw her turning her face away from everyone-someone in particular, in fact. He couldn't help but silently laugh in her distress.

"No, I know I've seen you somewhere, but where?"

"Have you seen Katy around town?" Sakura asked Ino.

Ino suddenly gasped, staring at Katy. Then her eyes narrowed.

"Now I know where I've seen her. She's that girl who thinks she's Sasuke's best friend!"

"Haku, drop me! Now!" Katy yelled, trying to wiggle out of his grip. He didn't let go; instead holding tighter in his surprise. She whimpered. "God kill me now."

"You two know each other?" Haku asked, glancing between Katy and Ino.

"Do we know each other? How could I forget her? She's that girl that was spouting lies like how she was Sasuke's best friend. She even insulted me!" Ino shrieked, glaring at Katy.

Sakura stared at Katy. "You did what?"

"I might have called her a few names. but they weren't bad!"

"_You called her a Barbie,"_ Sasuke snorted.

"_I call all blonde girls Barbie! That doesn't make it bad!"_

_"So I guess all those blonde jokes you make aren't bad, either."_

Katy bit her bottom lip. He did have a point there. She used to make fun of blondes all the time because of how she thought some of them were ditzy. That wasn't exactly true, she knew it. Some of them were smarter than her. Those jokes were made in good nature. She was a kid. She didn't know any better!

"Shut up, Sasuke!"

"Don't talk to Sasuke like that!" Ino exclaimed. She took a step towards her with a raised fist. Katy flinched, thinking she was going to hit her.

Before she did that, someone stepped in front of her.

"Ino, please don't hurt Katy. I'm sure she didn't mean to say those things," Hinata, of all people, said gently. Most of the genin were surprised she wasn't quiet and shy at the moment as they all knew her as.

"Hinata, do you know this girl?" Kiba asked, astonished.

She nodded. "Katy is one of my good friends. She helped me train my Byakugan after I helped her hide from Ino and her friends."

"Wait, are you talking about that accident with Sasuke's fangirls?" Naruto piped in.

"Yeah, and it's that idiot's fault in the first place. He made me fend for myself against his admirers," Katy said, glaring at him.

"It's been months since that happened. Get over it," Sasuke growled. Honestly, she brought it up so many times. It wasn't that important; why did she still hold a grudge over that event?

"Oh, I remember now! She's the one you told us about, Sakura. That client you had once," TenTen said in realization. She came over to Katy with Neji a step behind her as silent as ever. She smiled at Katy. "My name's TenTen. Sakura and Hinata told us a lot about you. Thanks for helping the both of them when they needed it."

Katy smiled shyly. "Um, it was no problem."

"How could you thank her? She's terrible," Ino sneered.

"You don't even know her," Shikamaru mentioned.

"So? I still hate her!"

"The feeling's mutual, airhead," Katy muttered.

Kiba laughed. "I like her. Anyone who can stand up to Ino is fine by me."

Haku, on the other hand, disapproved.

"Katy, be nice," he softly chided the girl.

"Actually, Ino," Sakura addressed, "Katy was telling the truth. She really _is_ Sasuke's best friend."

"They might not act like it, though. Sasuke's so mean to her sometimes," Naruto snickered.

"Yeah, like right now. He's making me get a check-up," Katy bemoaned.

"Speaking of check-ups, should we not get our own done immidiately? That is what we came here for," Shino said, speaking for the first time. Although he was quiet, all of them heard him.

"Yes, I agree. No doubt they are waiting for us," Neji agreed.

There were murmurs of agreement among the young teenagers. They all migrated towards the hospital entrance. A sense of dread filled Katy to a point she would've fainted right there in Haku's arms. She wasn't going to enjoy this for one second; she just knew it.

Once inside the hospital, they went to the nurse station where a nurse was waiting. As soon as she saw them, she said, "Hello, are you here for your examinations?"

They all nodded.

"Can Katy go first? She doesn't like hospitals," Haku requested from the others.

"Doesn't like them or she's afraid of them?" Chouji asked, glancing a look at Katy. She looked like a trapped animal, what with her round eyes like a deer caught in headlights.

"Afraid."

"Oh, poor thing. Alright, you may go first," the nurse said. She started rummaging through folders in front of her. "Her name?"

"Katy Rivera," Sasuke answered.

"Rivera...Rivera..." She pulled out a folder out and opened it. Suddenly, her smile dropped. "Oh, Katy Rivera. Yes, Tsunade would like to examine her herself."

"Huh? Why Granny and not some other doctor?" Naruto asked, confused.

"It's...confidential."

Katy, Sasuke, and Haku each shared a glance between them. Confidential? That didn't sound good.

"Okay. Is Tsunade here yet?" Sasuke asked the nurse.

She nodded. "She is waiting in one of the examination rooms."

"Alright. I'll go with her. She's already scared as it is."

"Okay. Everyone else, you will be called on soon so you may be examined," the nurse told the rest of the genin.

They nodded and left to go wait in the waiting room. Sakura and Naruto glanced back at Katy looking pretty worried before they left. Haku carefully handed Katy back to Sasuke. He gave her a reassuring smile before he followed the others.

"If you will follow me, please?" The nurse gestured down the hallway.

Sasuke nodded, ignoring how Katy was shivering in his arms. He followed the nurse through the hospital halls without any words spoken. All the while, Katy was beginning to beg.

"Sasuke, please, if you love me, you won't drag me in there," Katy pleaded, staring at Sasuke as he carried her into the room the nurse directed them to.

The nurse had this astonished but amused look on her face as if she didn't hear pleading like this every day.

"Stop whining." Sasuke entered the small room. The room resembled the doctor's back home with a cabinent on the wall, a sink underneath it on the counter, and a bed. He set her down on the bed gently. As soon as the nurse closed the door, he untied her.

As soon as the wire was gone, Katy sprang up to make a break for the door. She was jerked back by her collar and slammed against the bed.

"Damn it! Stop doing that! You're going to give me a concussion," she remarked, rubbing the back of her head.

"I'll stop as soon as you stop acting like a child. There's no way you're getting out of this check up."

"But Sasuke-"

"No! Shut up! I don't want to hear anymore complaining," he growled. His eyes flashed red dangerously. "I've had it with this God damn fear of yours. You're getting this check up or so help me, I'll-" He cut off, taking a deep breath. His eyes closed as he tried to regain his composure.

Katy stared at Sasuke as if she didn't know who he was. Actually, she felt like that. Never before has Sasuke completely lost his temper with her. He occasionally got angry at her, but that was when she did something to make him worry. He always got angry if he was worried. That's how he was.

"You're really worried about me, aren't you?" she quietly asked.

"Of course I am! You're an experiment of Orochimaru's. Who knows what's wrong with your body? For all we know, you could be rotting from the inside-out."

She wrinkled her nose. "Okay, gross. I didn't need that image."

"It's possible."

"I'm fine. Besides, have you seen me look sick for the past month? I'm as healthy as a horse," Katy said, swinging her legs against the bed energetically to prove a point. "You have nothing to worry about."

He muttered something. To her it sounded like, "That's what I'm afraid of." She sighed. It was sweet of him to worry about her (since Sasuke was emotionally stoic). At the moment it was getting on her nerves. He acted like she was some damsel-in-distress that needed to be rescued all the time. She didn't need to be saved. She managed to escape from Orochimaru on her own while Sasuke was busy training. He didn't need to protect her all the time.

It wasn't long before the door opened yet again.

Two women walked into the room. The first was rather young-around twenty-five-with a large bust. Katy couldn't help but feel envious. The woman behind her wasn't as beautiful, but she had this gentle aura around her. With her Katy couldn't help but relax.

"All right. Your name is Katy Rivera, correct?" the first woman asked. In her hands was a manila folder. She frowned, then eyed Katy.

"Um, yeah. That's me." Katy shivered. The woman was staring at her much like how Orochimaru did after the experiment was complete.

"I'm Tsunade, the new Hokage. This is my assistant, Shizune," Tsunade introduced, waving to the black-haired woman. Shizune smiled in greeting.

"I heard from Kakashi Hatake about what happened between you and Orochimaru," she said, spitting out his name like it tasted bad. "I came to tell you the results of your blood tests."

"Blood tests? She never came in to get a blood test before," Sasuke said, confused.

"You're right. But the last time Ms. Rivera was in the hospital over a month and a half ago the nurses took a sample of your blood," Shizune explained. "These are the results they came up with."

"And they decided not to tell me sooner?" Katy asked, perplexed.

"The doctors weren't sure whether or not what they found was accurate. When they heard Tsunade was coming back to the village they wanted to have her take a look at it before it was confirmed."

"And I have to say what was found shouldn't be possible," Tsunade admitted, slightly intrigued at the same time. "Whatever Orochimaru did to you is a medical phenomenon. It turns out that you have the DNA of another person within you."

"Wait, how is that possible?" Sasuke asked, wide-eyed.

"He used chakra in order to put another person's blood within her in order to alter her DNA. It helps that she has the same blood type as the person she currently has the DNA of. Orochimaru always was curious about altering DNA," she muttered. She turned to Katy. "I need to know in detail of the procedure Orochimaru used to see if there's any other information we can use."

"Um, okay. What do you wanna know?" Katy asked uncertainly.

"Anything you can remember would be fine."

"Oh, well, okay. Kabuto-his henchman- put me on a surgery table after he paralyzed me with some jutsu after I tried to escape the first time. He lay me on my stomach and took off my top. But he didn't see me!" she hastily explained upon seeing Sasuke's darkening expression. "Anyway, Orochimaru came in with this vial thing full of what I think was bl-blood. I couldn't see what they were doing when I felt something like a needle going into my back. It got painful after that and...I blacked out."

Tsunade frowned. "do you know if there was some kind of label on the vial?"

Katy flinched. _That_ she could remember too clearly. "Well, it wasn't a label exactly. It was more like a symbol. A clan symbol."

"A...clan symbol?" Sasuke muttered. She squirmed, knowing he was realizing something.

"Which clan?" Shizune asked.

"...The Uchiha Clan. I'm sorry, Sasuke. I should have told you sooner," she apologized profusely.

"So you knew from the start who's blood was used?" Tsunade questioned further.

"Not specifically. Please don't be mad," Katy continued to plead.

Sasuke said nothing when he heard the news. He stared at Katy, then Tsunade apathetically. It was like he shut down all over again, which worried Katy. She used to be frightened when he got really angry at her for something she did. Now, getting no reaction scared her the most. She was completely unprepared for that. Finally, he asked, "Which Uchiha?"

Tsunade glanced between the two kids. Katy literally started to shake in anxiety. However, she was unprepared for the answer.

"Izumi Uchiha."

"Who?" both Katy and Sasuke echoed. The name drew up a complete blank on their part. They didn't know all of the Uchiha; only the ones that mattered at the moment.

"Izumi Uchiha. He's one of your ancestors, Sasuke," Shizune answered. She began to rifle through the papers in the folder. "Let's see...Ah! Here we go! He's an ancestor on your mother's side. He was a powerful shinobi when he was alive forty years ago. Apparently, he was a major influence in the clan and after his uncle, Madra, left the clan he was appointed as head of the family. He went missing on a mission and was presumed dead, though his body was never found."

"Wait, wait, wait! So you're telling me I have some old guy's DNA in me now? Sick!" Katy cried incredulously.

"Madara? Who is he?" Sasuke asked.

"He was the leader of the Uchiha clan years ago and co-founder of Konoha," Tsunade explained off-handedly. "By what our records say, Izumi was Madara's younger brother's son." She glanced at Katy's eyes. "May I take a look at your eyes?"

Katy numbly nodded. She was too preoccupied with what was just explained to notice. Her mysterious DNA came from some guy's younger brother's son? She didn't know who this Madara guy was, but if he was the co-founder of Konoha he must have been powerful. Since this Izumi was his nephew who took over the clan, then he must have been powerful as well. This new information _did_ explain where Orochimaru got the blood from. Izumi's body was never found after he went missing. Still, she couldn't believe she had blood so close to the co-founder of Konoha.

She shivered when Tsunade placed a hand over her eyes, a wave flowing through her. But it wasn't from that. Her hand moved downwards. Katy opened her eyes to see the frown marring the older woman's face. Then, it traveled over to her heart, glowing a bright green and leaving a tingling sensation in its wake. The frown become more pronounced once reaching her heart. She told Katy to take a deep breath, which she did. Suddenly, Tsunade stopped. Rage barely kept in check showed on her features.

"That son of a-I should've killed that snake while I had the chance!" Tsunade cursed. She continued to do so while Katy recoiled.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, talking a hold of Katy's hand to calm her.

"What Orochimaru did was wrong, but that idiot didn't know the consequences of what he was doing! He shortened another life!"

"What!"

She took a deep breath to calm herself. After a few breaths, she started again. "The blood test showed more than who's DNA you possess. It revealed the beginning stages of Sepsis. In other words blood poisoning."

"B-Blood poisoning?" Katy stuttered. Her face drained of her blood, making her pale at the idea. It didn't help her hemophobia, either.

"How do you get blood poisoning in the first place?" he asked urgently.

"Sepsis, or blood poisoning as it is commonly called, occurs when a bacterial infection enters the bloodstream. Usually, it is contracted through any of the organs during or after a surgery in that area," Shizune explained. "In Ms. Rivera's case she contracted it when a foreign blood mostly likely left in a frozen state then melted for the procedure. It must not have been in a proper state because there were foreign bacteria in the blood taken when you first came in."

"I repeat: Sick!" Katy made a face, slightly unnerved by the information.

"It gets better. When you contract sepsis your blood pressure, which can cause problems of how much blood is flowing to your organs, as well as have any of the symptoms such as chills, hyperventilation, a rapid heart beat, lightheadedness, a skin rash. Etc., etc.," Tsunade counted off. "But don't worry. You're in the beginning stages of it. So far, your blood pressure is a bit low and your heart beat is faster than normal."

"How were you able to tell she contracted it?" Sasuke asked, frowning at how casual she was putting all of this. Katy was already having a minor breakdown at the explanation itself.

"A test on her blood was done. It's a normal procedure considering she was with Orochimaru for at least a month. They were able to see how much platelet and white blood cells she had within her body. They were lower than usual; not life threatening yet, but still concerning to how it affects her blood rate. If her cell count is too low right now and any of the other symptoms develop, she will either go into septic shock, have problems with blood flowing to her organs, or, in a worst case scenario, death."

"So I might die?" Katy quietly uttered.

She shook her head. "At your stage, which is pretty early, the risk of you dying is from ten percent to twenty-five percent. If we treat you now, you'll be fine as long as we get rid of the infections festering in your bloodstream."

"Didn't you say she could also go into septic shock?" Sasuke questioned.

"There is the possibility of that, but the chances are slim. She'll be fine if we get rid of the infections now. Although, we're not sure on how many of the wounds you might have had were infected or how bad they are. Have you cut or wounded yourself in the past few months?" Tsunade asked Katy.

She stared back as if she was a lunatic. "Orochimaru pushed me past my limits while I was under his care. On top of that I've been injured a lot since the experiment. Does it look like I haven't been nearly killed?"

"She has a point, my lady," Shizune said, hiding a smile behind her folder.

Tsunade frowned. "Right...Well, this test was taken the last time you were here. We need to take another blood sample to see if your sepsis has progressed any further or not."

"B-Blood sample? As in drawing my b-blood?" Katy gulped. The mere thought of having a needle stick in her body scared her to a high degree. She would have thought she would be over her phobia after living with Orochimaru and his precious subjects for a month. Apparently not.

"That's how you usually get blood samples." She waved a hand over to Shizune.

Shizune placed the files she held on the counter. She picked up two items off the metal tray beside the files. One item happened to be a syringe. Katy's eyes widened.

Without warning she jumped off the bed and made a bolt for the door. Sasuke, who anticipated something like that, grabbed her arm yet again. He pulled her back to throw her onto the bed. Before she could get up, she sat on top of her pinning her arms to her sides.

"Katy, calm down. It's okay," he whispered soothingly.

"No needles, no needles," she whimpered, struggling underneath him.

"What in the world was that?" Tsunade asked incredulously, caught between amusement and disbelief.

"She's afraid of hospitals, doctors, and anything medical related. On top of that she's hemophobic."

"She's afraid of blood?" Shizune gasped.

He nodded.

Tsunade shook her head. "Kid has the worst luck ever. She's afraid of blood yet she contracts blood poisoning. How ironic."

"Tell me about it." Sasuke believed irony, or fate in general, hated the both of them. First it messed with him by seperating him and his brother as well as sending him away. Then, it manipulates his fate with Orochimaru by placing Katy as his target to turn into a proper Uchiha host. He most likely experimented with her eyes now that he thought about it. Katy _did_ say she could see clearer for some reason.

Beneath him, Katy stilled. He glanced down to see her eyes squeezed tightly as a tear slid down the side of her face.

"_Please, no. No needles. No more_," she continued to whimper.

Sasuke could not help but feel guilty. He knew it was not his fault she was experimented on. He did not like how Katy would have these deep fears for the rest of her life because of something as traumatic as what happened to her. Under Orochimaru's 'care', anyone would be. he treated anyone and everything like they were his to play with. All the more reason why he wanted revenge against the man for what he did.

He turned to Shizune, who was at a loss of what to do. "Be careful. I think she's remembering her time with Orochimaru."

She nodded. "I understand. After all, she's not the first person I've dealt with who has hemophobia."

Behind her, Sasuke noted Tsunade was staring at the corner of the ceiling frowning.

"Okay, can you get her to sit up? I'd rather take the blood on her left arm," Shizune said gently.

Sasuke did as she said. After he got off of Katy, he had her sit up. She clung to him immediately as if afraid she would be taken from him. He was fine where she was except her left arm was in between them. It seemed like a bad idea to get her to move in her state of mind at the moment.

"Does it have to be the left arm?" he asked.

"No, I can do it on the right. The left is more preferable since it's the closest to the heart."

Sasuke glanced at Katy's arms, both of which were gripping onto him tightly.

"Katy, give her your right arm."

Her shaking become more pronounced. She buried her head further on his shoulder where he could feel a wetness on his shirt. He sighed. If she was already crying, she must have been traumatized by needles. Usually, he would tell her to suck it up. This time, he could not find the heart to do so.

"Katy, please, give her your arm," he pleaded. Pleading for him was rare on its own, but fore once he would stoop that low. He was already worried about how far this blood poisoning was. He wanted her to be okay.

He must have said something, because Katy shifted her head. She tilted her head up enough to let him see a single, teary eye staring up at him. He hated seeing her cry; it was like all she ever did these days was cry. Seeing those little tears always made him feel as if he was the reason for them. Every time those eyes looked up at him with such open sadness his heart clenched.

After a short minute, she buried her head on his shoulder again. Yet, her right arm slowly lost its grip. She held it out straight, violently shaking. That alone was too much to ask.

"Okay, Katy, I promise I won't hurt you. It will last ten seconds then it's over," Shizune reassured her. She took out a cotton ball and dabbed it with some clear liquid. Most likely alcohol, he deduced by the smell. She swabbed it on the crook of her arm against a visible blue vein.

Katy flinched, gripping tighter onto his arm to the point it hurt.

"_Come on. It won't be that bad. She's only taking some blood. She's not going to hurt you_," Sasuke whispered. He brought his free hand to the one arm holding him, rubbing it against her reassuringly.

"You know," Tsunade started, "Naruto told me you were a cold, stuck-up kid. I'm not seeing it."

Sasuke shot a glare, which didn't affect her. "I don't care what you've heard from that moron. I only do this with Katy."

She lifted a hand to her mouth to cover the grin he knew was there. "I suppose not all Uchihas are stuck up bastards."

He wanted to tell her what kind of person he thought she was, but could not, favoring to comfort Katy instead.

"Sasuke, try to get her to relax. I don't want to miss the vein if she's shaking this bad," Shizune warned him.

"Alright. _Katy, didn't you say you were going to buy clothes for Haku soon?" _Sasuke asked, in an attempt to calm her. He began to ramble, saying what was on his mind. "_I hope you have enough money to buy him clothes. I was getting sick of him borrowing my stuff all the time. Just don't go overboard. Haku wouldn't appreciate being dressed up like a girl, though I have a feeling he secretly likes it."_

As he spoke the shivers wracking her body gradually died down. He continued babbling on about anything that came to mind. Since he was speaking in English with no one eavesdropping on what was said he was spared the embarrassment. When the shaking died down enough Shizune prepared the needle. She pressed it against the vein. Against him Katy tensed once more, but did not move. Once all of the blood was drawn Shizune removed the needle.

"There you go. All done," she declared, smiling. "That wasn't so bad, was it now?"

"Not the one being jabbed at with a needle," Sasuke heard Katy mutter.

"So is that all?" Sasuke asked, ignoring her.

"Until the results come in, yes. you're free to go," Tsunade decided. "Although, she might want to take it easy. Stress weakens the immune system and with so white blood cells she can't risk that. It isn't something we need right now."

"With Sasuke training himself to death I can't help but be stressed," Katy said. She removed herself from Sasuke, rubbing her swollen eyes. A smile spread across her lips.

Tsunade chuckled. "You certainly bounce back fast."

She shrugged. "That's how I am. I don't stay depressed for long."

"Even learning she's part Uchiha won't keep her down for long," Sasuke commented.

"That's because I accepted that fact during my imprisonment. Which reminds me," she added, grinning. "I can actually say we're related now! Wait, am I a cousin or an aunt to you? Since this Izumi might be a grandfather or uncle on your mother's side."

Sasuke didn't say anything. he was still trying to comprehend that little fact. He didn't mind Katy was related to him by blood now. He already saw her like a sister, but if he started to think about _how_ they were related he wouldn't know what to say. He actually didn't want to think about it.

"Speaking of family, you might have the ability to use the Sharingan," Tsunade commented herself. She tapped her eye. "Orochimaru decided to experiment with your eyes with the Sharingan cornea and retina he most likely got from the missing Izumi's Sharingan. He probably couldn't preserve the entire eye so the cornea and retina was all he had. Apparently, he could only manage to make it to work with your eyes halfway, resulting in your current eye color. Have you noticed any changes to your eyesight?"

Katy nodded. "For some reason, everything looks clearer than before like someone cleaned a dirty window to a sparkling shine."

"And she seems to be able to remember things she's seen other people do," Sasuke added. When he started to teach her self-defense he only had to show her a move once or twice and she would be remember it perfectly. Of course, she could not perform it with the same accuracy without some practice, which would take a long time on her part. He thought she was a fast learner, but that didn't seem to be the case now.

Tsunade nodded, tilting her head in curiousity. "It seems your eeys are caught between activated and dormant. Your eyesight has improved enough for you to be able to use the Sharingan's ability to copy virtually anything."

"But I can't see things slowly like Sasuke can," Katy said, astonished. Everything was still too fast for her to track.

"That's because you only have some of the Sharingan's abilities, not all of it," Shizune deduced.

"Oh."

"So do you two have any other questions or concerns?" The two shook their heads. "Good. I'll send someone for you in two weeks time to tell you the results of your test. Also, we need to register Rivera's name in the list of Uchiha alive. Although it's under strange circumstances, she's an Uchiha."

"Do I have to change my name?"

"I'd recommend doing so. You're the only Uchiha who is currently a civilian. When people find out about this, because they _will _find out, you'd be an open target. And not to be rude but your name is unusual as it is."

"Well, excuse me for having a weird name," she muttered. Then she sighed. "Fine. I'll change my name to Uchiha, but there's no way I'm being called that in public."

"We should change your first name while we're at it. That way you have an alias to fall back on in case people are looking for you," Sasuke suggested. "Her new name will be Kioshi Uchiha."

"Isn't Kioshi a boy's name?"

He shrugged. "Be happy it still has the same letter of your name."

"But why the hell would you choose a name meaning light?"

"Would you like it if I chose a more ridiculous name like Gohan?"

She rolled her eyes. "Screw you, Sasuke. Screw you."

"Kioshi Uchiha it is, then," Tsunade laughed at the way the two acted. "Come by the Tower later to register your new name. Now, get out of here. I have twelve other brats needed to be examined today."

With permission to leave Katy jumped to her feet and all but ran out the door. Sasuke rolled his eyes, following her out. Only she could be hyper after a hospital visit. At least she was back to normal. Somewhat. He frowned, thinking about the news they were given about her new disease.

_Blood poisoning...Katy already demonstrated the signs of having it, but how far has it progressed?_ This wasn't something they could joke about. This was serious. Katy had the possibility of dying if it progressed any further since the last test. Hopefully, he prayed, it didn't. _For now, all we can do is wait until the results come in._

He shook his head, going towards the lobby where everyone was waiting.

* * *

So here's the new chapter. It took forever, but it's there. For most of the medical information I got it off online so yes, Sepsis is a real disease and called blood poisoning. I had to improvise with the cornea and retina to explain her eye color. Yes, Katy is an Uchiha (part, actually) and no, she isn't going to get the Sharingan transplanted fully in her. If Orochimaru wanted an Uchiha and experimented with her eyes, which the eye is delicate in the first place, not all of the abilities will be there nor will she gain more. No more, no less. And I know some of you are going to wonder if she is going to be a shinobi because of it, but no, she is not. I never intended for her to be one.

Sorry if I sound a little snippy. I'm tired from school and stressed a lot right now. Oh, and inspiration for Katy's reaction with needles is based off of my own experiance. I recently discovered that I panic when I'm with needles. I actually had my blood drawn myself and the doctor had to keep me talking so I wouldn't panic. I, apparently, start rambling when I'm like that.

Anyway, review please!

-Twilit Angel


	34. Shock

Chapter 34

"Ugh, Sakura, why do I have to go with you?" Katy whined, following Sakura through town.

"Because I want you to hang out with us girls for once without Sasuke or the other guys around. You and Ino need to get along for once," Sakura replied.

"But she hates me! I don't want to be near her."

"She wouldn't hate you if you didn't insult her in the first place."

"She started it!"

"I don't care who started it! I'm ending it!" Katy flinched when Sakura looked over her shoulder to glare at her with a fierce look in her eye. She shrunk back, whining.

Since the hospital check-up over a week and a half ago, Sakura has been trying to find a way to mend the way Katy and Ino acted around one another. Upon meeting one another once again after several months Ino began insulting and picking on Katy again. The insults ranged from the way she spoke (since the translation jutsu didn't change her American accent) to her very un-Japanese name. Katy mostly ignored Ino as she was used to being teased back home, but she began to annoy Ino with the very things she was teasing her. It included things such as speaking in English to calling her 'airhead' and Sakura's favorite nickname for her 'Ino-Pig'. The way the two fought was getting on the nerves of their friends.

Sakura had the idea to bring Katy to their weekly girl day where the Genin girls would hang out without their teams. They had it once a week seeing as how they were all busy on missions or training. They tried to meet up as much as they could if they were on a mission and would meet after training.

Katy didn't mind going to hang out with the girls. To be honest with herself she was excited, if not a little nervous. She wasn't nervous because of Ino. It was because she has never hung out with girls before without the presence of a boy. It was a sad but true fact. The girls back home didn't really like her because she was weird for one and she was the only girl to get close to Sasuke. She didn't care to hang around other girls since she felt like they care more about how they looked or the latest gossip. Hinata was her first friend who was a girl, so this was new to her.

The two soon arrived at one of the many parks with the village (Katy couldn't help but wonder how many parks there actually were in the village). It was one of the more popular ones as couples and young children miled about. They headed towards a large fountain in the middle of the park where they found Hinata, TenTen, and Ino. TenTen and Ino were talking to one another while Hinata was searching the park. TenTen was the first to see them.

"Hey, Sakura and...Your name was Katy, right?" she asked, looking unsure about her name.

"Ah, yes. I know my name is weird and hard to remember for most," Katy said sheepishly. Most would either forget her name or mispronounce it. She was surprised TenTen managed to say it right.

Ino scoffed. "Weird? More like weird."

"So how have you been, Hinata?" Katy asked, ignoring Ino's comment. Or rather, attempting to. She wasn't here to start a fight when Sakura told her not to. She sat at the edge of the fountain next to Hinata, smiling. "Is your dad still giving you trouble? Or Neji, for that matter?"

"No, they haven't been giving me trouble since the Chunin Exams," Hinata said.

"That's good. I heard you had to go to the hospital after the preliminaries of the Third Exam. I'm sorry I wasn't there to visit you at the hospital. As you probably know I was a little...preoccupied."

"I'll say," Ino muttered. "I bet she actually let herself get caught. Either that, or she's that weak."

"What did you say?" Katy hissed. Hearing that was the last straw. There were a few things people say that make her seethe. One was insulting Sasuke, then it was accusing of her something she didn't do, and the third and most recent was anything that associated her to Orochimaru. Hearing one supposedly ran to the evil snake was the straw that broke her back.

"What, are you deaf, too? I don't think youre as inccoent as Sakura or Hinata say you are. I bet you ran Orochimaru so you could get rid of Sasuke!" Her voice rose in volume as she began her accusations. "That's probably the only reason why you're so close to him. So you can kill him and take the money and valuable treasures he left behind!"

"You shallow bitch!" Katy lunged at Ino with hands ready to wring her pretty little neck. Or she could have if Sakura hadn't grabbed the back of her shirt and pin her arms to her sides. She wriggled feircely. "Sakura, let me go!"

"No! Katy, calm down! Ino was just kidding," Sakura grunted. It was getting harder to hold Katy back. She was definitely getting stronger from all that training she did with Sasuke and Haku.

"No, I wasn't," said Ino, sniffing.

"Not helping, Ino!"

"Sakura, let me at her. I'm not going to kill her. I just want to rough her up a bit." Katy wasn't out to kill-that sort of thing was Sasuke's area. All she wanted to do was teach Ino a lesson.

"Ha! Like you could lay a hand on me!"

"I know I can, airhead!"

"Enough!" TenTen yelled. She got in between the two girls, shooting them glares. She turned on Ino. "Ino, stop trying to encourage her. She hasn't done anything to you."

"Yeah! I'm not the trained killer between us," Kay agreed. She stopped trying to struggle once TenTen intervened and smirked at Ino. It withered when Sakura released her to stand in front of her with a stern look on her face.

"And you need to stop insulting Ino. God, you're both as bad as Sasuke and Naruto," sighed Sakura.

"Don't compare me to that idiot!" Katy and Ino shouted in unison. They shot one another a glare.

"Don't call Sasuke an idiot," Ino hissed.

"Then, don't say Naruto's an idiot," Katy retorted.

"No, I won't! He _is_ an idiot! Sasuke is way cooler and better than that moron!"

"Cooler? Sasuke's a complete dork! There's nothing cool about him."

"You're just jealous Sasuke is cooler, stronger, and better than you! I bet he took pity on you when he decided to be your friend."

"Ino, that's enough!" Hinata, surprisingly, shouted.

They fell silent to stare at the normally quiet girl in astonishment. Hinata glanced between the two with an unusually stern look before turning to Ino.

"Please, don't talk about Katy and Sasuke's friendship like that," she begged. "Sasuke truly does care for Katy. He doesn't pity her at all and protects her. You shouldn't talk that way when it's not true."

Ino opened her mouth to shoot off more nonsense or to keep insulting Katy. She paused, then closed her mouth again.

"Fine. Whatever."

Katy kept quiet. She was still pretty pissed at the girl and really wanted to hurt her. However, she normally wasn't violent. She knew she couldn't win against a genin. So she kept her anger in check as she smiled at Hinata.

"Thanks, Hina. Sorry you had to do that," she apologized.

"Yeah, I didn't think you had it in you," TenTen said, amazed at Hinata's sudden courage.

Hinata flushed. "W-Well, I don't like it when friends fight and Katy seemed upset so..."

A swell of pride washed Katy over. When she first met the girl she was virtually silent in the presence of others. Now, she was confident to stand up not only for herself, but for others as well. Hinata has definitely come a long way.

"Wow, Hinata. You've gotten a lot more confident," said Sakura, impressed.

"I know. I'm so proud of her!" Katy mock sobbed. She flung her arms around Hinata. "My little girl's growing up! Next thing you know she'll be asking Naruto out on a date all on her own!"

"Katy!" Hinata's face grew red with embarrassment.

"What? You never know. You might get the confidence to ask him out one day."

Sakura giggled. "Yeah, but I think we have to explain to him she's asking him out. You know how he is."

"I love Naruto and all, but he can be so naive sometimes. Not stupid. Naive. There's a difference," Katy added upon seeing Ino open her mouth to probably say he was stupid.

She huffed. "How? They mean the same thing."

"No, they don't. Naive means he doesn't know any better. Like how, say, Naruto is naive when it comes to something like how girls act. Stupid is how Sasuke was stupid enough to think he could train himself when he didn't know how to do that."

"Really? Are you still talking about Sasuke Uchiha?" TenTen asked, curiously. She nodded. "Sasuke didn't know how to train himself?'

"Not at first, if you count injuring yourself is training. He got hurt a lot. I had to ask for him to get help from one of the jonin." Katy still couldn't believe Sasuke had been so stubborn in the beginning. Compared to now he wouldn't have gotten so strong without Anko's help.

_Hm, I wonder how Anko is?_ she wondered. How long has it been since she saw her? Too long, she knew. The last time she saw her was during the second portion of the Chunin Exams, which was two months ago. She frowned, thinking of how worried she must have made her first friend. _I should visit her soon.  
_  
"So, what are we going to do today?" asked Sakura.

"I thought we could go shopping. I need more color variety in my wardrobe other than pink. My mom's bugging me about it," TenTen explained, sticking out her tongue in distaste.

"That's a great idea, TenTen! I haven't gone shopping in a while," Ino squealed. "I need more skirts and shirts. On missions they keep getting ruined."

"I think shopping would be a good idea. Katy probably needs new clothes," Sakura agreed. She cast a look at Katy's attire.

Katy glanced down at her clothes. Because of her size, Itachi's clothes (which she found in the room she was using) were loose on her, making her look like she had homeless. She readjusted the sleeve from falling off her shoulder.

"Yeah, that would be nice. Problem is, I don't have any money." She paused, blinking. "Wait, I think Sumi said I could pick up my pay any time this week."

"So do you want to pick up you pay first? That way you can still go with us," Hinata suggested.

She pondered the idea. For awhile now she kept saying she wanted to buy new clothes that would finally fit her. Yet, she never had the chance to do so. Now would actually be a good time to go shopping.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. If it's okay with you," she added, mindful of the four girls.

"It's fine by me," Sakura said.

"Same here. I don't mind," TenTen answered.

Hinata merely nodded.

Then, almost simultaneously, Sakura, TenTen, and Hinata turned to Ino. Ino stared back, looking at them strangely.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Do you have any objections to going with Katy to get her pay?" TenTen asked.

She scowled. "Depends. Where does she work?"

"Don't worry, airhead. It won't take time out of your day. I work at a clothing store for kunoichi like you on Market street," Katy informed her. She was sure Ino would say no. The girl hated her and probably didn't want anything to do with her if it weren't for their mutual friends.

She was most surprised when Ino answered.

"Fine. I don't really care as long as it won't take long," Ino enunciated, throwing an obvious warning to not take long.

Katy was half tempted to do the exact opposite and waste her time just for the heck of it, but she didn't want to do that. It wasn't because she liked her-she would be wasting Hinata, Sakura, and TenTen's time. So she forced a smile.

"Okay. Thank you."

"Hmph! I'm not doing this for you. I just think arguing with you would waste my time."

_I got that already, idiot,_ Katy thought to herself.

"Of course," she said, keeping her smile up.

Sakura, TenTen, and Hinata sighed, making Ino and Katy stare at them. Katy figured it might because they weren't fighting for once.

Now that they weren't fighting the girls decided to make their way towards Market Street. Not to her surprise the girls began to gossip about the latest happenings in the village and their teams. Katy kept silent listening to them talk about the boys in their teams. She knew they didn't really hate the boys, but they were definitely annoyed-especially TenTen and Ino. Sakura and Hinata didn't complain. Well, Sakura complained about Naruto a lot, but that was it. She liked having Sasuke and Haku on her team. Hinata, the angelic soul she is, didn't find anything bad to say about Shino or Kiba. They all got along with one another. So she didn't add in her two-cents.

Katy was normally a chatter box (as explained by Sasuke) to get everyone's attention on her. Yet for some reason, she did not feel like talking to the other girls. Maybe it was a habit that she didn't speak to other girls due to their affections for Sasuke and she wasn't used to them. So she did not want to talk to them. In fact she thought she was feeling sick by merely listening to them gossip about the boys behind their backs.

_Or maybe it's just me, _she wondered. Her head was hurting like that time Sasuke slammed her against a tree during training. It was so hard it shook her teeth. Boy, wasn't she disoriented after that? It was similar to that along with a feeling of being tipsy on the verge of drunkenness. She really wasn't feeling well. She shook her head. She most likely had a migraine. It wasn't really a surprise since Sasuke was a slave driver during training. Yet, it could be that. For the past week he was being more lenient after they learned about her Sepsis and its symptoms. Could she not be feeling well because of the Sepsis? 'But could I be feeling the symptoms of that?'

No, that wasn't possible. She couldn't be affected by that. She wasn't _that _sick.

_No, I'm probably just imagining it._

Even as she thought this, she felt sick to her stomach.

Before she knew it, Katy and the others arrived at Sumi's store.

"Wow, that's so cute," Sakura said, glancing at one of the window displays. "And that's kunoichi clothing?"

"Yes. Sumi's a jonin so she owns this store on the side." Katy opened the door, the familiar jingle of a bell warning the occupants of a new customer. She entered the store to see there were some customers shopping as well. Sumi was with a customer, turning at the bell. Seeing Katy, she waved in greeting. She said something to the woman she was helping and walked towards Katy.

"Hey, what are you doing here? It's your day off," she greeted. Her eyes wandered to the four girls migrating to the racks.

"I'm here to get my pay for the month. I'm shopping with the girls for the day," Katy answered, awkwardly gesturing to the four genin.

"Girls? You mean you have other girl friends besides me and Anko?"

She nodded. Although, she blushed at the blunt question.

Sumi grinned. She patted her on the head. "Well, well! Someone's finally growing up. Me n' Anko were worried you'd become a boy acting like that."

"I'm a girl through and through. Besides, I'm way smarter than a boy if Sasuke's anything to go by," Katy giggled, slapping the offending hand away from her head. She inclined her head to the girls. "Just give me a second. I'll grab my money in the back. Same place in the box, right?'

"Yeah, you know the rules."

Katy rolled her eyes and walked behind the counter to the doorway leading to the back. The way Katy grabbed her pay each month was by getting into the lock box kept in the back room. Sumi wasn't worried about her stealing any more money from her. Katy was already afraid of being tortured by a sadistic woman rather than worry about money. She entered the small back room. Along the walls were boxes cluttered together barely leaving enough room for a tiny table pushed against the back wall. A single metal box was all that sat on top of it. She made her way to the box, opened the lid to take out the appropriate amount of money. Closing it, she turned sharply to run back out, but suddenly stopped.

The room began to spin way out of control like she was suddenly on a spinning ride at an amusement park. She flung out her hands to stop it from spinning, but they slipped on the boxes' sharp edges. She closed her eyes as she fell to the ground with her balance lost. All she could focus on properly was her own rapid breathing and the frantic footsteps coming closer before her mind blanked out.

* * *

XXX

* * *

"Sasuke, behind you!"

Sasuke pulled out a kunai, spinning on the balls of his feet. His Sharingan was activated as he quickly registered a large behemoth of a man was charging at him. The man swung the club he wielded down in an arc, but Sasuke was too fast. He jumped up to avoid the attack and kicked the man's unprotected head hard enough to knock him out. The man fell to the ground in a dead heap, yet unconscious.

Sasuke landed on the ground next to the man. He looked around the small clearing to see men of all different sizes and different weapons passed out on the ground. Haku and Naruto just finished up fighting the last of them.

"We're finished?" he asked Haku.

Haku nodded, tying up a man who looked slightly better than the other dirty bandits.

"All we have to do is take him back to the village and we're done."

"Good. Naruto, you carry him."

"What?! Why do I have to carry him?" Naruto exclaimed, outraged.

"Because you lost the challenge. You took out the least out of all of us." Naruto was about to open his mouth to say he was lying, but he said, "I counted, moron. I was paying attention to how many of the bandits you were taking out."

He ignored the string of curses thrown at him as he thought of Katy and Sakura.

Earlier that morning, Sakura arrived at his house asking if she could borrow Katy for the day. Since it was her usual day to hang out with the rest of the kunoichi, he put together that Sakura wanted Katy to start being around girls. He also knew she had to start spending more time with girls, so he agreed. Because of that, he, Naruto, and Haku were on their own during missions. The mission they ended up taking was a B-rank mission where they had to take out a gang of bandits that was terrorizing a nearby town. They left for the town in the morning, tracked down the bandits at their hideout at noon, and finished taking all of them out and gave the leader to the town to put in jail by afternoon. They were done for the day.

Half an hour later, the boys took the leader back to the town to have them pass judgment on the man before being paid the mission fee. Then, they started on their way home.

Haku and Naruto started talking about some extra training they could in as soon as they met up for a team training session. Sasuke listened with half an ear, too lost in his recent thoughts. His thoughts kept revolving around Katy and her blood poisoning.

It concerned him more than he liked. He knew that the blood poisoning was as dangerous as it could get. Katy was in danger not from any outside forces, but from within. Her own body was rebelling against her where her white blood cells weren't able to fight off the infections inhabiting her body. He promised himself he would protect her. How could he do that against her own body? It frustrated him to no end and scared him. He couldn't do anything for her except to be supportive. He wanted to be able to do something. He wanted to kill Orochimaru for starting this mess and to find some sort of cure that would take away her illness. The first he could manage given enough time, but he was useless in the latter.

_I want to do more_, he thought angrily. If it wasn't for him, Orochimaru would have never gone after Katy to start this mess. Yet, he knew Katy would yell at him saying he was better off. At least he wouldn't have to leave the village, she would say. He knew she was right, but that didn't make him feel any better. At the cost of her life was preventing his leaving worth it? No, it's not. He had no idea how long he was thinking on the subject when he realized they reached the village.

As they came closer to the village with each step, Sasuke suddenly felt chills go up and down his spine. Every time they went down, they left a horrible feeling in him like how in horror movies he knows there's a killer loose and he knows he's after him. That feeling left him thinking something horrible was waiting for him. If there was, he hoped it wasn't serious.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Haku asked, noticing Sasuke shudder.

"It's nothing. Just feeling weird." His voice betrayed his semi-worried tone. He wasn't even sure why he was worried. It wasn't like there was anything to worry about, right? Then why did he feel like he should be frightened?

"Are you sure?"

Sasuke nodded.

"I'm fine."

Haku could see he wasn't fine, but said nothing.

"Maybe you ate something bad," Naruto suggested, moodily. He was still upset about losing the bet earlier.

"That's you, not me, moron."

"Quit calling me that!"

"I'll stop when you prove me wrong."

"Why you-" Naruto paused, blinking suddenly. He stared at something in front of them.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and followed his line of sight towards the village gates. He was slightly surprised to find Sakura waiting there near the check-in stand. She was pacing in front of the stand, looking nervous and worried all at once. When they came towards the gates she lifted her eyes to see her teammates. Not to their surprise her eyes landed on Sasuke. However, she did not smile.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried, running towards the boys. She met the boys halfway as they walked past the doors. She stopped in front of Sasuke where he could see she looked extremely distressed.

"Sakura, is something wrong?" Naruto immediately asked, sensing her distress.

"Sasuke, there's been a problem," she said to him.

He tensed, the feeling from earlier hitting him full blast.

"What's wrong? Where's Katy?" he asked. Why wasn't she with Sakura? Weren't they hanging out for the day?

"She...When we were getting her paycheck at work she passed out. She went into shock!"

Sasuke suddenly couldn't breathe. It was the word he dreaded for a few weeks now.

"S-Shock? Sakura, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked. He, himself, grasped the severity of the situation. It wasn't every day he could see Sasuke Uchiha absolutely petrified at a simple word. Seeing that kind of expression on his rival was worrying. "What's wrong with Katy?"

"She-She went into septic shock earlier. We didn't know she had it at all! She seemed fine when I got her, but when she was picking up her paycheck to go shopping she collapsed," Sakura answered. Her voice shook tremendously while tears lined her eyes. "She was breathing so fast and so pale. Her boss carried her to the hospital and rushed into intensive care. We don't know if she's okay or-"

She broke off when sobs broke from her chest to cover her words. She couldn't speak anymore.

Naruto and Haku stared at one another in alarm. Neither of them knew how serious Katy's condition was after her check-up a few weeks ago. They didn't even know she was sick, though Haku suspected it. The only one who knew the full extent was Sasuke. They turned to him to see he was still in a state of shock.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. His head spun like the world was moving without him. No…That can't be. She was fine this morning! She was her stupid, idiotic self with her carefree grin and a promise to come back home in time for dinner. She couldn't have gone into Septic shock. She just couldn't.

"No," Sasuke denied with a shaking voice. He shook his head, not believing anything Sakura was telling them. "Katy's fine. She was fine this morning. She didn't look sick! She was probably being an idiot again and tripped over her own feet. She can't-She can't be…"

He trailed off, clenching his fingers into a fist until his fingernails dug into his palm. He couldn't finish that sentence. It couldn't be true. It couldn't.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but it's true," Sakura sobbed. "She might be dy-"

"No! Sakura, you're lying! I don't believe it!" Sasuke yelled. She flinched back at the raised tone. He couldn't hear that word. He wouldn't believe she could possibly be sick to that point. There was no way she could! He had to see it for himself.

He broke out into a run towards town. Behind him, Sakura called out his name. He didn't hear her. All he could hear was the voice in his head screaming out in fear and frustration for what frightened him the most. He wasn't going to accept that Katy could be at that state until he saw it for himself. He ran through town at top speed, swerving past people and carts alike to reach the hospital. It took no time at all until he arrived.

Sasuke arrived at the hospital and burst through the doors. He ran to the front desk where a nurse was sitting. She looked up at him in surprise.

"Excuse me, but what room is Katy-Er, Kioshi Uchiha in?" he quickly asked. He stumbled over the name since in records Katy went by her adopted name.

"Kioshi Uchiha?" she asked, uncertain. Not many knew Katy was an Uchiha aside from him at this point.

"Yes. Which room?" He was getting impatient by this point. Every minute he wasted standing there was another minute he spent in the dark concerning Katy's condition.

The nurse shuffled through the papers in front of her and picked one up. Her eyes scanned it. "Let's see…Oh, she's in the intensive care ward, but no one's allowed-"

She didn't finish speaking when Sasuke bolted down the hall towards the intensive care. He knew where that was. Sakura dragged her team there a few days ago to visit Lee. Lee was preparing to go into surgery to remove the bone fragments in his spine. It was because of the fragments he was unable to return to his healthy state as a shinobi. He was scared about the surgery, but smiled when he saw how many people visited him so he could get better. So, he knew where the ward was.

Sasuke ran past both patients and doctors alike. All of them jumped out of his way as he sped down the hallways. He turned his head everywhere to look into door windows for any sign of Katy. Just as he almost ran into a doctor he glanced into another window to find Katy inside. He came to a halt in front of the large window looking into a room where a patient would be when in critical condition. He froze at what he saw.

Katy was lying on the bed near the door. There were machines around her bed and an IV drip hooked onto her arm lying on top of the white sheets. The IV bag contained some kind of liquid in it. On Katy's face was an oxygen mask hooked up to an oxygen tank by her bed. He also her face was unnaturally red. Another machine was a heart-rate machine resounding with steady beats that were too fast to be normal. Sasuke felt physically sick at the sight. None of this screamed right.

He stood at the window barely able to digest the image in front of him. Now that he could see Katy's condition for him, Sakura's words came to light.

Katy went into Septic shock.

But how? How did this happen when she appeared fine this morning? That morning where she whined about being forced to spend time in Ino's presence? His hands clenched around the frame of the window to the point his knuckles whitened. How did this happen?

"I see you've heard," Tsunade's voice said from behind. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the Hokage standing right behind him. Her arms were folded, no expression on her youthful features. Her eyes told a different story. They were pained and guilty. He looked away-that expression was too painful to bear.

"I-Is she going to be okay?" Sasuke hesitantly asked. He was too afraid to know what could be happening in Katy's body right now.

There was a short silence. Then, Tsunade sighed.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? She was fine this morning."

"Her Sepsis had advanced while we were examining it these past two weeks," she explained as stoically as she could. She was a doctor and shouldn't let personal feelings affect her work. "When we looked at the blood sample we got from her before we noticed her platelet count was lower than it was the first time. We took another blood sample to see it had decreased since two weeks ago. The sepsis had progressed into severe sepsis and finally reached septic shock. Have you noticed anything strange about her?"

He shook his head. "No. She hasn't said anything about it. Haku mentioned to me before she felt a little colder than usual. I think she's been having problems breathing, but I thought that was because of training."

"Hm. Looks like she's been hiding the symptoms from her. She did rather well except for her back."

"Her back?"

Tsunade pulled out a photo from her pocket. She handed it to Sasuke. He took the photo and analyzed it. It was a photo of Katy's bare back. He was shocked when he noticed there were small scars littering her back especially for a rather large one directly over where her heart was. It was also the small red and nearly purple dots scattered all over her skin.

"What's this?" he asked.

"That would be the blood clots she hid from you. When contracting sepsis it stops blood from regulating to her internal organs as well as creates more infections. Those blood clots are infections she contracted during the past couple weeks. As I told you before stress tends to weaken her immune system, so it leaves her open for more infections."

"She's been hiding this?" Sasuke couldn't believe Katy would hide something this serious from him. He knew she hated hospitals, but this was life or death for her! How could she ignore all of this! He narrowed his eyes at the still figure on the bed. "Stupid idiot! She never tells me anything about her health! Is there anything you can do for her?"

Tsunade shook her head. "At this point all we can do is give her medication to control her blood pressure and prevent the infections from reaching her major organs. Other than that, all we can do is wait."

"…What are the chances of her dying now?"

"Fifty percent. But, with the medication it might be lower."

Sasuke wasn't reassured by that in the least. He stared at Katy, who looked like she was sleeping without a care in the world. But, that wasn't true. He knew at any given moment the disease inside her could end her life. He wasn't reassured at all at the promise of medication and waiting.

"Don't worry," said Tsunade. She laid a hand on his shoulder to encourage him. It did nothing to help. "Kioshi will be fine. From what I heard from Naruto, she's a strong girl. She won't give up so easily to this."

All he could do was nod, though he didn't hear a word she said.

The hand left his shoulder. There was the sound of clicking heels going farther down the hall until they disappeared. When all he could hear was his own harsh breathing Sasuke broke.

"Damnit!" He punched down on the window frame. Anger rose within him like a volcano. How could this have happened? How could everything fall apart in a matter of a few hours? Just when things were finally settling down? Katy might die because she refused to tell him she was sick. He hated himself for not paying more attention. He could always see through Katy's illusion of being healthy and happy. Why couldn't he see it this time? Was he so conceited and wrapped up in his own issues he never saw how much pain his friend was in? He promised Katy he would find a way to send her home. How was he supposed to do that now when she was in this kind of condition? She might die here without ever seeing her mother again. Worst of all, he promised he would protect her. How was he supposed to be protecting her when it was her own body hurting her?

The anger quickly died down until a deep fear and sadness filled him. He might lose his first friend. No, not even that. He might lose his only other living relative. The very friend who has been there for him through everything. The one who helped him when he didn't know what to do. The one who became more than a friend-she became his sister. Life would not be the same if she was gone.

Sasuke felt a hot tear as he squeezed his eyes tightly at the pain of it all. Another followed and then another until he couldn't stop the tears. He was so frustrated at all of this, and he was powerless to do anything about it. He could have done something in the very beginning when this all happened. So focused on changing his life, he lost sight of what truly mattered to him: Katy. He dragged her through this mess with him. She paid the consequences for changing his life. There was nothing he could do to pay her back for all of this pain she went through.

_Katy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've failed to protect you._

For the first time since he was seven he allowed himself to cry. He was ashamed of the actions he committed that led to this. Hope about her recovery was but a speck in his mind. He was hopeful Katy would be alright and look where that hope led. He didn't believe she was going to recover from this. If so, then…

He would truly be alone.

* * *

**Okay, uh, wow. Been awhile since I've updated this. The reason for this is because I almost gave up on this story. My writing style has changed from the very beginning of this story. I was thinking about deleting it and redoing it, but I was already so far in. I'm almost done with this story. Even though I want to rewrite it, I'll do that _after_ I finish it. I'm sure everyone wants to see what happens at the end. So, here ya go! New chapter! Should be thankful for this since I'm supposed to be working on two different essay right now. I really wanted to finish this chapter what with it being already halfway finished. I better go work on those essays now.  
**

**Please review!**


	35. Nightly Escapades

Chapter 35

Long after visiting hours were over with the sun safely set beneath the Earth's horizon, Sasuke found himself wandering through the village. He found no need to return home immediately since Haku was spending the night at Naruto's house. With Katy in the hospital the house would be empty, which would only serve to remind him he would be alone again.

_How could this have happened?_ Sasuke thought, scuffing his feet on the wood of a tree. He was sitting in a tree just outside the hospital after getting tired of simply wandering an hour ago. He ran a hand through his hair, staring at the dark sky.

How could he have not noticed the signs? He should have watched her closely. Katy was practically like an open book in the dark. She was always so emotional, but she was a master at hiding her feelings behind a mask of cheerfulness. He never saw how much pain she was all this time because she never stopped smiling. She would always brush off comments before quickly changing the subject. Sasuke was never good at reading emotions, but he could normally read her like a well-read book.

_Damnit! I wish she told me she was in pain!_ He trusted her more than anyone here. Yet, why didn't she trust him enough to show him the pain she carried? They told each other everything! Did she really not trust him enough to get help? He glared at the leaves and various trees in front of him. He promised himself he would protect her. How could he do that if he didn't know what to protect her from? _I'm breaking my promise. I _swore_ I would bring her home. She'll be dead from all those infections before I can fulfill her wish._

Sasuke wanted to be angry at Katy for not telling him. He even went as far to think this was all her fault because of her stupid fear of hospitals. If it weren't for that, she would have gone to the hospital earlier. None of this would have happened if she did. But, he stopped himself. It wasn't Katy's fault she obtained several infections in the first place. She would avoid getting hurt in the first place. In fact this was all Orochimaru's fault! He wanted to have his precious little Uchiha host to acquire the Sharingan, and when he couldn't get the Uchiha brothers he decided to make his own. He was the one to kidnap Katy in the first place and started this whole mess.

At that moment Sasuke wished Orochimaru would burn in the depths of hell for every malicious deed he's done to others. He wanted to hunt down that snake for what he's done but held back. He wasn't strong enough to take him on. For now he had to keep training so he could kill him in the future as well as the current issue of Katy's illness.

What were they going to do about that? The antibiotics weren't working at all because of how many areas were infected. Not to mention her white blood cell count was too low to fight them off. They were decreasing as time went on along with her chances of surviving. She was getting too close to succumbing to the disease, which could lead to the eternal dirt nap. He would not, and could not, accept the fact she could die from this. There had to be something they could do other than wait it out. There just had to be some other way!

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair again. He wasn't a doctor or had any medical knowledge other than the basics. He had no idea how he would save her from her body. He glanced at the moon as if looking for an answer or sign, but then saw something out of the corner of his eye.

Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke stared at the hospital where he noticed something. One of the hospital windows facing his tree was wide open to allow the chilly night air open to the weak or defenseless patient. Then, a silhouette appeared at the window. They swung one leg over the edge as they peered down at the ground. They sat there for a moment as if unsure of what to do. Then, they moved to reach for the pipeline by their window. Grasping the pipe with a shaky grip and slowly made their way down to ground level. A few times he thought they would fall to their death when they nearly lost their grip on the pipe. Thankfully, they made it to the ground safely.

Sasuke leaned closer to see who would leave the hospital like that. His Sharingan helped to see through the dark seeing how small the person was. They were most likely his age or close to it. He thought it was some civilian kid who decided to be a rebel until the light of the moon caught their profile.

_Katy?_ Out of all the people he suspected it was Katy who was out and about so soon after her fainting act. He didn't even know how she could be awake by now. _But what the hell is she doing out of bed? She shouldn't even be moving!_

She was obviously in no condition to be out. From what he could see, she was panting heavily as she simultaneously shivered. Katy wrapped her arms around herself, moving her head this way and that. She looked towards the street and ran into the dark.

Sasuke couldn't allow her to run off out of nowhere. He jumped out of the tree and landed on his feet like a graceful cat. Then, he ran off after her into town. The part of town they were in was mostly dark and silent compared to other parts of town. This was lucky for him since he found Katy with no problem. He found her walking down an empty pathway far from the light of the lively city. He followed closely behind taking great care to not reveal himself to her. A part of him demanded for him to take her back to the hospital so she would get better. Another was aching to know where she was going in her condition at night. He followed silently, intent on knowing where she was going.

Katy led him through town, avoiding the heavily populated areas in exchange for the darkness of the trees. The night blanketed these areas well to allow its creatures to pass without being disturbed. Sasuke thought the dark would have bothered Katy; after all, she was attacked physically in the dark twice now. It was to his surprise she was willingly avoiding the light to be cloaked in darkness. She needed it to work in her favor. He allowed her to do so knowing he was not far behind to shield her from the predators seeking the weak.

It wasn't long before they came upon a pathway lighted by the moon. Katy walked onto the pathway lined by trees while he dwelled within the shadows. He gasped silently, realizing where she had gone. It was the pathway not too far from the tower and academy. It led from those establishments ally the way to one of the village gates. When he saw Katy sit on a familiar stone bench he knew where they were. But, what was she doing here?

He knew she wasn't planning on leaving the village. She loved it too much to leave. Then, why was she out here? This couldn't be a random urge to walk in the park, either. She normally didn't go out without a purpose.

That seemed to be the case. Katy sat on the bench with eyes focused on nothing. Sasuke watched the subtle way her fingers brushed her shoulder length hair almost absently. She kept nibbling on her bottom lip with a gaze wandering from the ground to the sky.

_What could she be thinking about?_ He wondered. Her actions were things she does when she is thinking long and hard on something. He wasn't sure what could be going on in that head of hers. She could think of everything and nothing as long as he knew her.

She sat there for a long time as the moon traveled high in the sky. For the spring season the air was unusually cold. Sasuke did not mind it was cold himself, but he worried for Katy because of how she was wrapping her arms around herself. Yet, she did not move from her spot to seek shelter. He frowned. Maybe it was time to drag her back to the hospital before she caught a cold on top of the sepsis. He was about to move from his spot when he felt a familiar presence nearby.

"Katy?" Haku entered the scene from down the path. Katy lifted her eyes to him never leaving as Haku approached her. "What are you doing out here? You should be back in the hospital. You'll get worse."

"Oh, hey, Haku. Yeah, sorry. I just felt like going out," Katy said, smiling. To Sasuke he could tell she wasn't trying hard to smile.

Haku frowned, taking a seat next to her. "Are you sure? You should go back. You don't look so well."

She wasn't. She hadn't recovered from her fever yet by the looks of it. Still, she kept smiling.

"Nah, don't worry about me. I'm fine. Besides, what are you doing out so late? I thought you were spending the night at Naruto's?" Katy wondered.

"I am. I felt like going out for a walk. I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, right."

Here, both stopped talking. Sasuke wondered what could be on her mind if she wasn't chattering a mile per hour. The two didn't seem to mind the silence. They were quite comfortable in their thoughts. Haku seemed to notice someone was watching them because he was staring in his direction in the trees. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, and suppressed his chakra signature as best as he could. Still, he knew that someone who spent his life on the run knew he was there. Thankfully, he wasn't acting on it.

Finally, it was Katy who broke the silence.

"Hey, Haku. Can I ask you a question?" she asked. It was so quiet as if she was afraid to disturb the calm.

Haku grinned. "Technically, you already did."

"Oh, ha, ha. Very funny." She shook her head. "Honestly, you're spending too much time with Naruto."

"You say that as if it is a bad thing."

"When you're hanging around with a prankster, yes, it is a bad thing."

"Not that you're complaining."

"Well, you do help me annoy Sasuke on those days he annoys me. So, yeah, I'm thankful for that at least."

The two shared a look and then laughed.

Sasuke didn't know what to think. They were always out to annoy him, but he didn't think they planned in advance to do it. He was going to have to talk to them about this.

"So, what was your question?" asked Haku, once they stopped laughing.

"Oh, um, it's a personal question. I was, uh, wondering if you…miss Zabuza," Katy stuttered. She laughed nervously but avoided his eyes. "Ya know what? Forget it. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

He was silent for a moment, staring off into the darkness. While he did so Katy fidgeted in her seat continuously brushing her hair over her shoulder.

"I do miss him. All the time," Haku answered truthfully. "He was like a father or older brother to me beyond being my master. He was the one to see me for what I was truly worth in our oppressive homeland. At first I followed him because I was wanted by something. Even if I was nothing but a tool to meet his goals, I was okay with it. I was prepared to lay my life on the line so he would one day achieve his goal."

"Do you sometimes wonder what would have happened if you did die that day?"

"I do wonder. Sometimes. There are days when I miss Zabuza so much I start to wish I had died that day beside him. That day on the bridge was one I believed to be my last. But," he added. He smiled sadly at her, "I remember something someone told me. She asked me if the person I held dear wanted me to be happy should they die for me. I answered I would stay alive for their sake. Because of that, I found people who care for me other than my abilities. The one I love the most showed me there's more to life than being a tool."

"L-Love?" Katy stuttered. To Sasuke's horror/surprise her eyes lit in excitement. "No way! Haku, are you in love with someone?"

"W-Well, I wouldn't call it love."

Sasuke didn't need any lights to tell he was as red as their country's name.

"Who is she? What is she like? Do I know her?" she demanded, excitedly.

"Well, you do know her in a way. She's the most amazing girl I've ever met. She isn't that smart or strong, but she makes up for it with her kind and friendly nature. She can be very determined at times," Haku babbled. There was no secret how much affections he held for this girl. "There are times she can be naïve, and she gets into trouble a lot without meaning to. Even so, I can't help but admire how much she cares for her friends."

"Wow, you must really like this girl to hold her in that kind of light," Katy leaned back, smiling proudly. "Whoever this girl is she must be amazing. I'm jealous she has a guy like you in love with her. Have you told her how you feel?"

"Not yet. I want to tell her, but…" He paused. "I'm not sure what she would feel towards me if I do. I don't know if she would ever feel the same."

She shook her head. "Don't think like that. Who knows? Maybe she feels the same. I mean, if I were her, I'd be lucky to have a guy like you."

"Do you mean that?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the hopefulness in his voice. Oh, no. He could see where this was headed.

"Of course! I care about you, Haku. You mean a lot to me. I'm happy to have you in my life."

Haku stared at Katy with a strange look in his eyes. She was oblivious to the look. Then, he inched closer to her, and Sasuke knew what he was doing.

He let out a small strangled cry when Haku pressed his lips against Katy's. Luckily, he wasn't heard as Katy did her version of a surprise cry. The kiss didn't last that long as Haku leaned back, whispering something. Whatever he said caused Katy to jerk back with wide astonished eyes.

Sasuke didn't need to guess he said three simple but powerful words.

For awhile now he suspected Haku liked Katy as more than a friend. At first, he thought he was being paranoid about the whole thing. He was overprotective of Katy and didn't want anyone touching her after the recent incidents. But, then he saw the small yet subtle ways Haku acted when Katy was around. He would smile more brightly and laugh at everything she did, his cheeks would blush, and he stared at her in a different way when she wasn't looking. It wasn't until they started teaching her self-defense did he notice the signs.

Haku loved her like the way Sakura loved him.

As if realizing it herself, Katy shook her head with a heaving chest. Now here lay the problem. Sasuke knew Katy didn't like Haku the same way. She acted the same way similar to how she was around him: like a brother. She didn't reincorporate his feelings despite what she said.

She said something to Haku. Sasuke wasn't close enough to hear, but had good guess what was said when Haku realized Katy's own feelings. He stood to his feet, head hanging low.

"I see," he said, loud enough for Sasuke to hear. "Well, I guess there's nothing more I can do. I'm sorry for wasting your time, Katy. Good night."

"Haku…" Katy looked as if she wanted to follow after him, but didn't. She just looked after him as he walked back to the village and disappeared from sight. Once he was, she yelled with agony he never heard before. "Fuck! Katy, you're such an idiot! How did O not see how he felt? Damn it!"

"Because we're too young to love," Sasuke said. He stepped out of the safety of the trees to reveal himself to her. Her eyes met his as he stepped onto the cobblestoned path.

"S-Sasuke? What are you doing here?" she asked. She rubbed her eyes with her long sleeves to hide her tears. "You saw, didn't you?"

"How he confessed his love to you? Yeah, I saw that."

"Go ahead! Go laugh! I know you're going to tease me and say Haku can do better or how I have a fanboy," Katy growled. Her voice cracked, revealing her distress.

"And why would I say that? You say I'm mean to you, but I'm not cruel enough to mock your rejection."

"You're not?"

"Of course not." Sasuke took the seat Haku abandoned. He lifted a hand up to her face and brushed back her hair from her eyes. "I can see how much you're in pain. Even though you rejected Haku, it hurt to say no, didn't it?"

"What else could I do? He told me he loved me!" Her bottom lip quivered as a tear slid down her cheek. "I don't love Haku like that. He's like a brother to me like you. I looked up to him because he helped me and was always there for me when you couldn't. How could i hurt him like that when he described me as this incredible girl? God, I should have lied and said I loved him, too."

"Kaitlyn Marie River, don't you dare say something like that," he growled, smacking her lightly upside her head. "You did the right thing rejecting him like that."

"You're only saying that because you don't want anyone dating me."

"No, I'm saying it because we're too young to tell the difference between love between couples and the ones between families. God damnit, Katy, we're thirteen! Do you think we know what love is at this point in our lives? Haku didn't have friends besides Zabuza. We were his first friends. I'm not sure any of us even know what it's like to fall in love or be in love. And don't say you know what love is from reading romance novels," he added as she opened her mouth to speak. "Those are fiction stories. Half the romance stuff you read online are written by girls who might have an idea on what love is, girls who are our age, or younger, or only know the meaning of lust, not love. We don't know what love should feel like until we're older and more experienced."

"Haku's reaction was definitely from heartbreak," Katy muttered.

"But, he'll live, won't he? If you lied and said you loved him, you would've been leading him on and damaged your friendship in the future more than now."

Katy nibbled on her lip in thought. "I suppose you're right. Maybe it was better I rejected him. It doesn't mean I like feeling guilty hurting him like that."

"Like I said, he'll live. That's life. Knowing him, he'll try to forget his feelings to try and save you're friendship," he mentioned off-handedly. A small prickly feeling distracted him the moment it began crawling up and down his spine. He cast a look towards the trees. Why did he feel as if they were being watched?

"I guess. I'd hate to lose his friendship over something like this. Though, it's also weird to hear you give _me_ love advice. You're normally the emotionally stoic...one." She trailed off, blinking as she noticed he was staring into the forest. She followed his eyes towards the top of the trees. "What are you staring at?"

"Katy, shut up. Whoever the hell you are show yourself! I know you're there!" Sasuke demanded. He stood to his feet in a subtle fighting stance. His Sharingan activated to glare into the shadows obscuring their enemies from them.

A laugh ran throughout the night like an ominous chime of a grandfather clock. It was the kind that frightened little children on Halloween night as ghosts and ghouls came out to play.

"That voice..." Katy began to shiver and placed herself firmly behind him. "I recognize that voice."

"So, the little Uchiha knew we were here, huh? No wonder Lord Orochimaru is so interested in you," echoed a young man's voice.

Out of the dark four people melted out of the shadows, landing on the path to surround them. Sasuke placed a hand behind him for Katy's protection. With her behind him he could not hope to escape into the forest in her current condition. The clouds above parted, and the moon acted a natural spotlight to shine down on the newcomers. There were three young men and one woman wearing matching lilac tunics and purple rope belts around their waists. What alerted Sasuke the most were their hi-taites.

It was a single eighth note. Sound shinobi.

Katy gasped. She gripped the back of his shirt in a death grip.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded from the four. It was too bad he already knew their names. He honestly thought he would never have the pleasure of meeting this group.

One young man with his black hair tied up in a similar way to Shikamaru's smirked. "The four sounds: East Gate's Kidou."

"South Gate's Jiroubou," said the big man with orangish hair.

"West Gate's Sakon," the last male, whose voice their heard earlier, said.

"North Gate's Tayuya," the red-headed girl said last. She eyed Sasuke critically and snorted. "So this kid's the one Lord Orochimaru wants? He looks like a weakling compared to Kimimaro."

"Still, he's better than that little girl Lord Orochimaru wants us to retrieve. I still don't see why he even needs her when we can take the Uchiha he wants right now," Kidomaru pointed out.

"We need her because he wishes to put her for something more useful. After all, she has some of the abilities he hoped would manifest in her," Sakon reasoned. "If he doesn't need her, well, I'm sure we can find some use for her sooner or later."

Sasuke heard Katy gasp in terror behind him when he realized it. They knew Katy personally. He could tell by how familiar they spoke about her, though not in a good light. He even remembered what she told him once before.

"_I wasn't at full strength what with not eating much for a whole month and being beaten by four Sound ninja when I didn't do as they said. With them abusing me I'm surprise I'm still alive!"_

"It was _you."_ Sasuke very nearly saw red as Sharingan pulsed in his eyes. He was certain if he had Amaterasu the four standing around him would burn. "You were the ones who tortured for a whole month."

"S-Sasuke," Katy whimpered. He never sounded so angry in his life if she was around. He had quite the temper if someone treated her badly, and that side of him always frightened her.

"So, your little bitchy friend told you about us, huh?" Tayuya stated with a malicious smile. "So what if we did beat and torture her? She was a stupid little brat who got in the way of what Lord Orochimaru wanted. She deserved what happened to her."

That was the last straw.

Sasuke let his anger wash over him like a tidal wave where all logic and reason were cast aside. Only hatred, anger, and the thirst for revenge blinded him as he made his move on the four.

Katy gasped as Sasuke left her grip to charge at the closest Sound ninja, Sakon. But, Kidomaru punched at Sasuke only for the younger boy to swerve to the right and block the attack. Sasuke then jumped onto Kidomaru's back, using it as a stepping stone, to kick an on-coming Sakon. Before he could take a moment to rest, Jiroubou came in from his left with a fist with his name on it. Sasuke quickly duck from the attack while slipping a hand onto Kidomaru's rope bow. Using the momentum, Sasuke grabbed Jiroubou's arm with the same hand stilled hooked onto the bow and threw the both of them into the tree near Tayuya. The two Sound ninja collided together. But, logs appeared at the impact in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke felt like killing something now, starting with the four people still around him.

"I'm not in the mood for this crap," Sasuke growled. "If you want a fight, I'll kill you."

Sakon chuckled, amused. "Stop yapping like a wimpy dog. Come, then. I'll make a nice melody from your broken ribs. Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do."

_Okay, he's so fucking dead!_ Sasuke thought it was lame enough they were playing on how they were _Sound_ ninja. It was even more so when he said the music notes. It was really annoying.

Irritated more than ever, Sasuke charged in at Sakon. He leapt at him at the time time the Sound ninja did. The young Konoha ninja pulled out some wire from the hidden pocket in his sleeve just as Sakon jumped and swung his leg at him, heel first. Sasuke stopped with the hand holding the wire. As quick as he could, he wrapped the wire around Sakon's ankle. He swung the wire towards the trees where he, yet again, turned into a log the moment of impact. He anticipated that, but he did not expect Sakon suddenly appearing in front of him. All of the air was knocked out of his lungs from a hard roundhouse kick at his torso. Sasuke was sent flying into the trees, his back hitting the wood so hard it almost broke.

"Wow, you're bones have a low tone," Sakon lightly commented. "Let's make a more high-pitched tone, eh?"

"No, Sasuke!" Katy cried the moment Sasuke crumpled to the ground. She could do nothing but watch helplessly as he struggled to get to his feet. She was about to go help him, but Tayuya grabbed her before she could. The red-haired young woman held a kunai at her throat. That seemed to be a popular place to hold for hostages. "Sasuke, please, don't. Leave him alone!"

Sasuke ignored her please and the pain to stand. He let out a choked groan when Kidomaru shoved him against the tree with a rough hand around his throat to pin him there.

"You should listen to your friend if you wanna live," Kidomaru warned, smirking. "Both times now, Sakon, you were beaten by a little brat."

"Shut up," Sakon growled.

"What the hell do you want?" Sasuke managed to say through the chokehold.

"Come with us," Tayuya demanded. "Orochimaru can give you a power you could never dream of."

_Never_ was the key work. Sasuke wouldn't dream of going to Orochimaru even if it meant clawing his eyes out before doing so!

"Why should I go with you? Orochimaru experimented on Katy and you four tortured her! Why should I go to the very man who poisoned her blood!?" He stopped, gagging as more pressure was applied to his throat and effectively cutting off his air.

"Stop it! He can't breathe!" Katy shouted. She struggled against Tayuya and froze the moment a sharp kiss of a blade was near her neck. Almost in the same place where her scar-a small gift from Itachi-was.

"You're in no position to order us, bitch," she sneered.

"Alright, Uchiha, I'll strike a deal with you. Since neither of you want to go we'll just take one of you," Sakon reasoned. "Either you come with us while your friend gets her treatment, or she can come with us while you stay nice and safe here."

"What kind of deal is that? There's no way we're-" Katy stopped when the knife cut deeper into her neck, drawing blood. Oh, great. Another infection was sure to come.

"It's not your choice to make, girly. It's the Uchiha's," Kidomaru said. He smiled at Sasuke's rapidly changing parlor. He decided to have mercy and released him.

Sasuke gasped sharply as he fell to the ground on his knees. He clutched his throat, coughing from nearly having his windpipe crushed. After his coughs died down, he lifted his eyes to the smug Sound Four.

"Give me one good reason why I'd agree to a deal like that," he rasped, similar to what he was sick.

Tayuya grinned, which didn't sit well with him.

"You said your friend here is sick, right? If you're such a good _friend_," she sneered at the very word, "you wouldn't risk her health by forcing us to take her out on a trip now, would you?"

He couldn't say anything. What she said was true. He may not have met the Sound Four before, but he already knew they would go to such lengths to bring either of them with them. Katy wasn't in any condition to take a three day journey to Oto. She shouldn't be out there in the first place! If she took that journey, she wouldn't be able to reach the border alive.

"Bastards. You'd go that far?"

"To please Lord Orochimaru? Yeah, we would."

"So make your choice, Uchiha. Come with us, or we take your friend," said Sakon, smiling coldly at them.

Sasuke glanced between Tayuya, Katy, and Sakon. He couldn't let Katy go with the Sound Four. They were cruel enough to her already. She was afraid to be near them. He sighed in frustration. He swore to protect her from any more pain. If he had to make that decision, he would do it.

"Fine. I'll go with you," he ultimately decided. "But, you have to swear you'll leave Katy alone. You already have me. I'm worth more than some experiment."

Tayuya smirked. "Smart choice?"

"Sasuke, no! You can't go to Orochimaru!" Katy exclaimed. Then, she switched to English. "_We've worked too hard to prevent you from going to Orochimaru in the first place. Are you really going to leave all the friends you've made here?"_

_"Yes, if it means saving my first friend from her death."_

The declaration came out of nowhere. Katy lost energy in her legs the moment he said that. Tayuya released her as she fell to her knees. She stared at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Sasuke, you can't mean that. I'm not that important."

"_To me, your are." _Sasuke stood, ignoring the jolts stabbing at his ribs. He took short steps toward her. Then, he pulled her to her feet and into a hug. She squeaked in surprise. He held onto her tightly as if afraid to let go. "_Take care of yourself, alright?"_

By this point, Katy realized he was serious because she dug her nails into his back desperately.

"Sasuke, please, no-" She gasped sharply. Her eyes were filled with betrayl as they fluttered closed. She went limp in his arms.

_I'm sorry, Katy,_ he thought with guilt. He released her shoulder where he had pressed at a pressure point. He gathered her into his arms. Ignoring the looks from the Sound Four, he walked to the stone bench where he placed her gently down. With her legs tucked near her he stared down at her. She was completely relaxed-a sharp contract to her smiling face He hasn't seen her so relaxed awake since they were back home. Since they came to this place, her smile in public became more and more faked. She only smiled truly if he was around because she trusted him so much. Would she lose that smile if he were to leave? He didn't know for sure. He had to do this if she could continue to smile in Konoha instead of losing herself in Oto. He smoothed her hair over her forehead. _I'm sorry, Katy. Looks like I can't keep my promise very well._

Sasuke straightened his back and turned to the Sound Four with a blank look to hide his emotions. "Let's go."

They glanced at one another and smirked.

"Glad you see it our way, Uchiha," Kidomaru chuckled almost sinisterly.

Jiroubou seized his arm suddenly in a tight grip. Sasuke instinctively wanted to twist his arm out, but resisted the urge to do so. He made this decisions and he'd be damned to ruin it. He felt chakra envelope him. In a flurry of leaves he was gone from the streets. Then suddenly, something hard jabbed him in the stomach. He let out a curse before his world grew dark.

* * *

**Okay, new chapter! Yay! I managed to finish this, though my cousin is distracting me with some Korean show. Still distracted. So, I'm finished speaking for tonight. **

**Please review!**


	36. In the Dark

Chapter 36

_Hospitals were hell on earth._

_Or, at least, that's what Katy thought. The white walls, the sterile smell of combined chemicals, the too plae, sick, and injured patients along with their worried families was too much for her. How was a hospital a place of healing? It was more like a place where people were silently waiting for their deaths._

_She didn't like it, Katy decided, swinging her legs back and forth against the hard plastic chair. She sat in the waiting room practically alone. Since it was late at night, there weren't many people in the emergency room with her. The TV was on some random channel, but she had no interest in that. She rubbed her sleepy eyes that were about to drift closed._

_She wasn't sure why they were at a hospital three in the morning. Her mother woke her up just an hour before to go to the hospital. Katy didn't understand why, but she remembered her mother's tears and the worry in her eyes. IF she was crying, something terrible must have happened to someone they knew._

I have a feeling Kuya's the one who's got Mom worried, _she thought, irritated. Her older brother, Sean, was such a hassle to deal with. Just because he was sixteen he thought he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. Katy and Sean normally got alone in sibling terms, but she was angry with him. A few hours earlier she wanted to go with him to a party, but he wouldn't let her come with him. She got angry and told him she hated him. She still didn't forgive him considering he never came home at the time their mother told him to._ Great. Now we're in the hospital because he probably did something stupid.

_Katy hoped their mother was lecturing him. The doctor came earlier to take her to see Sean. They were taking a really long time to come back despite her mother saying she wouldn't be gone long._

He's always causing us trouble. I wish he never met his stupid friends and acted the way he used to before he met'em.

_"Katy?"_

_At the sound of her name Katy lifted her head. She saw her mother standing at the doorway she originally disappeared behind. Meeting her eyes, she got worried. Her mother didn't look so good. Her face was deathly pale and red blotches covered her cheeks and eyes._

_"Mom?" Katy jumped out of her chair and ran to her mother. Her mother reached out to her and pulled her into a hug, falling to her knees so she was at Katy's height. Katy hugged her back, confused as her mother began to cry. "Mom, what's wrong?"_

_"A-Anak, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. They couldn't do anything," she cried, uncontrollably._

_"Who couldn't do anything? Mom, what's going on?"_

_Her mother pulled away, unable to stop her tears, but still had her arms around her. "It's-It's your Kuya. He got into a car accident on his way home. They hit another car headed on. One of his friends died on impact and the rest were injured. Sean-Sean was really hurt, and when he got to the hospital they-they couldn't-He's-"_

_It suddenly made sense why they were there. Katy suddenly couldn't breathe while her whole body grew cold._

_"M-Mom?" she whispered._

_"He said he was sorry for everything and for making you angry," her mother sniffled. "He's sorry...He can't keep his promise to be there for you anymore."_

_That did it for her. The realization of all of it hit her._

Sean was dead.

_Katy burst into tears, hugging her mother desperately while she tried to deny the truth of it. Her mother held her tightly as she tried to control her own tears. In that desolate waiting room they let the anguish of their tragedy wash over them._

Kuya, you promised you wouldn't leave. You promised you'd always be there for me,_ Katy thought. Since she was six and was always bullied at school, Sean promised he'd never leave her by herself. She was a young girl with little to no friends. Her big brother swore he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. So how...How could he die? He swore he wouldn't leave her! He promised!_

"You promised," Katy mumbled, her eyelashes fluttering open to the rising light above. Consciousness gripped her as someone touched her shoulder. Tears of the memory slid down the side of her face while she groaned. "You promised..."

"Kid, you alright?" said a young man's voice. "You shouldn't be sleeping out here. You'll catch a cold."

Katy groaned, blinking away the tears. She sat up, rubbing her face. That dream again...She thought after two years the nightmare/memory would stop or at least get better. She got over Sean's death since then. Shaking her head, she realized she wasn't at home warm in her bed but on a freezing cold bench. Confused, she stared at the two shinobi in front of her both holding stacks of paper. What was she doing at a park? She searched last night's memory.

She remembered after hearing the nurses say her body got out of shock she decided to go out for a walk. Then, she went on her walk only to meet Haku, who confessed his feelings for her, and later her and Sasuke talking when the Sound Four-

The Sound Four and the deal.

Sasuke telling her to take care of herself.

"That bastard!" Katy growled. He took the Sound Four's offer just to save her! Not only that, he knocked her out so she wouldn't follow and left her on the same stone bench the Uchiha left Sakura on in the series! That jerk! Then, she calmed down as she realized what she thought. Sasuke left with the Sound Four. "Oh, shit! Sasuke!"

She jumped to her feet when she was suddenly hit with a wave of vertigo. Stumbling, she fell against one of the shinobi.

"Hey, careful!" The one she fell against steadied her with one free hand. His eyes crinkled at her pale face and ice cold skin. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine. I need to see Tsunade," she frantically said. She shook off the man's hand to get going, but stumbled once again. She cursed. Last night she might have gotten safely out of Sepsis shock, but that didn't mean she wouldn't enter it again. "Damn it, not now!"

"Kid, maybe you should head home. Whatever you need to speak with the Hokage can wait until later," said the man who woke her up in slight concern.

"No, it can't wait! He'll be too far by then!"

"Fine. Then, tell us what you want to tell her. Kotetsu and I are on our way to see her," said the man who caught her.

Katy was about to decline but stopped herself. She had no time to argue who told Tsunade. As long as she knew, it didn't matter. She had other people to alert.

"Fine. Tell Tsunade Orochimaru's men took Sasuke Uchiha last night, and they're out of the village," she urgently informed. She turned on her heel to run towards the village without waiting for a response.

Katy ran through the town as fast as she could. Being early morning, there were hardly any people up and about. People were just starting to set up their shops and waking up for the new day. She hardly noticed her surroundings, heading for only one destination. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of a normal looking house in between two shops. She hastily knocked on the door three times. She waited anxiously for a moment. When she heard nothing she was about to knock on the door again when it opened.

A woman with light brown hair appeared at the doorway. She opened the door and looked down at Katy with uncertainty and confusion.

"Yes, may I help you?" the woman asked.

"Hi, my name is Ka-Er, Kioshi Uchiha. Is Sakura home?" she asked who she assumed was Sakura's mother. She almost slipped when giving her official name in this world.

"Oh, you're one of her friends," the woman realized. She smiled. "Sakura is still sleeping. I'll go wake her up. Please come inside while you wait. I can't let any of Sakura's friends stand out here in the cold."

She opened the door wider to let Katy inside. Katy walked in to find herself in a normal looking household where all she could see was the hallway. She stood in the genkan patiently since she didn't expect to take off her shoes for a long time.

"Wait here, dear. I'll go wake Sakura. Are you hungry? You look like you haven't eaten yet."

"No, thank you, ma'am. I'm fine," she rejected politely. Though, she did feel a little hungry from skipping dinner and breakfast.

Sakura's mother smiled kindly before walking towards the stairs to disappear and wake Sakura.

For a minute home sickness stirred in Katy's heart. Seeing Sakura's mother made her miss her own mother. She missed having that maternal feeling of safety where she could talk freely without repercussions. Living on her own without her mother was unbearable in the first few months here, but Sasuke was there to protect her. He chased away her homesickness to remind her she was never alone. Her throat seized. Sasuke wasn't there to protect her anymore. He always protected since Sean died and he did it until the end. Last night was his last act of protection.

And it was all her fault.

Before Katy could try crying from sheer guilt, she heard footsteps approaching. Sakura stepped down from the stairway. She was already dressed and was in the process of tying on her hitai-ate. She yawned widely, but paused upon seeing Katy.

"Katy? What are you doing here? You should be in the hospital," Sakura said, worried. Then, she noticed how pale Katy was compared from the day before. "Is everything alright?"

"No, nothing's alright. Sasuke..." Katy shook her head, feeling the onslaught of impending tears. She was too tired to act like everything was fine when it wasn't. She kept all of her pain behind a smiling mask because there were things around her that dulled that pain. With Sasuke gone she was holding back the mask on its last thread before her tears burst out.

Sakura was at her side in a flash. "Sasuke? What about Sasuke?"

"I can't talk right now. Just follow me."

Katy glanced at Sakura's shoes in a silent message for her to put them. Sakura got the message, swiftly pulling on her sandals with practiced ease. As soon as they were on Katy grabbed Sakura's wrist to pull her out of the house. Sakura made no protest as she was dragged through the village. By then, more people were out and about to begin their day. Katy envied them. Everyone was so cheerful and happy while she was on the verge of losing her only family left. Because she was so distraught, it took her longer than it was supposed to reach their next destination.

"The village gates?" Sakura asked upon seeing the gigantic gates allowing passage into the village. Katy dragged her all the way to the village gates, which were already open for all visiting and leaving travelers or shinobi. "Why are we here?"

Katy almost didn't answer her. She was distracted by the small group gathered near the gates. They were huddled together to discuss their plans. She ran towards them despite how dizzy it made her.

"Naruto! Haku!" she called.

Haku and Naruto turned at the sound of her voice. Beside them, Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji, Kiba, and Lee did the same. Katy halted in front of them breathing heavily.

"Katy? What are you doing out of the hospital? You're still sick," Naruto stated, concerned.

"We heard the story from Tsunade," Shikamaru said. "Sorry, but we can't take a civilian or Sakura on this mission."

"Mission? What mission?" Sakura asked.

"You don't know? Sasuke was taken out of the village late last night. Your friend was there with him." He gestured to a silent Katy.

She gasped. "What?"

"Please, you have to hurry and find him. This...This is all my fault." Her tears finally made their appearance as she shook violently, hating herself for this whole mess. "They made Sasuke choose which of us would go with them. That idiot decided I was more important, so he let them take him! If I wasn't here, none of this would have happened! Naruto...Haku...Please...Bring my brother back! Sasuke is all the family I have left! If he gets hurt because of me-"

Her words dissolved into sobs. She lost all energy to stand and fell to her knees, unable to support herself any longer. She didn't care if they were pitying her. She just wanted Sasuke back home.

Sakura dropped to her knees beside her and hugged Katy gently. Her own green eyes filled with tears directed at Naruto. "Naruto, please bring Sasuke back. I beg of you."

"Sakura..." Naruto's lips twitched up in a sad smile. "I guess you really like Sasuke, huh?"

"Katy." Haku knelt in front of Katy. She looked up to see his sad eyes as he smiled wryly. "I promise to get Sasuke back home. I know how important he is to you. Even if I lose my life, I will bring him home to you."

_Haku..._Katy felt awful all over again. Last night, she rejected his confession despite how he poured out his feelings for her. Now, he was promising to save her best friend at the cost of his own life? She realized she was a terrible friend to Haku. He did so much for her and this was how she repaid him. She couldn't trust herself to speak, so she stayed silent.

"Yeah, we'll definitely bring him back!" Naruto smiled brightly with a thumb's up. "Promise of a lifetime."

Sakura giggled through her tears. "Thank you."

"Hey, Naruto. You sure you can keep that promise?" Kiba teased.

"Heh! I won't take back my words. That's my nindo."

"I made a promise to Katy and I intend to keep it," Haku said with the same determination.

"Alright, let's go!"

Sakura, Katy, and Lee stood at the gates as they watched the Genin team walk away. Lee and Sakura were content with watching them go. Katy was not. She was still feeling the guilt of letting Sasuke go like that eve against her will. He did knock her out, but he made that deal because of her. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore, so he chose to give himself up at the risk of being a prisoner for three years. She didn't want him to do this, even for her. If it weren't for her, Sasuke would still be home.

_If I wasn't so weak, none of this would ever happen_, she thought, ruefully. She hated herself for being so weak and a burden to Sasuke and everyone. To them, she was nothing but the Uchiha civilian with some shinobi knowledge. She was an open target free to abuse, and she was sick of it. Naruto and everyone were doing something she could have prevented herself. _Useless...I should just disappear. Why am I even here?_

"Katy? Come on. We should get you back to the hospital," said Sakura, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I doubt Sasuke would like it if he came back to find you still sick in-"

She was cut off as Katy slapped her hand away. What followed was a stunned silence. Sakura didn't know what to say. Katy never showed anything but kindness to her friends.

"Sorry, Sakura. I'm afraid I'm not going back yet," Katy apologized, her lips quirking up. It was so forced it hurt to do it.

"What are you-"

Before she could say more, Katy shook her head and took off down the road. Sakura called after her, but she didn't listen. She was sick and tired of being the helpless little civilian girl. Naruto and Haku were about to risk their lives to save her best friend. It was like that when she wanted to prevent Sasuke from getting the curse mark. She sent Haku to do a job she wished she could do herself but couldn't, because she didn't have the power to.

Well, no more.

Katy was going to rescue Sasuke herself. She got him into this mess, so it was her job to get him out of it.

She ran back through town and took as many shortcuts as she knew of. In no time at all she found herself back at the Uchiha estate. She ran all the way back to their house, barely having time to take off her shoes, and headed straight for her room. It wasn't her room, so to speak. Before she ever came alone, it used to be Itachi's old room. She didn't know ti was his room when she chose the room until she found all of his old clothes.

Once in her room, Katy grabbed her old school bag in the closet where it had been gathering dust since they came here. She began shoving in weapons Sasuke gave her for training as well as a first aid kit. Then, she ran into the kitchen to shove non-perishable items in like bread and chips. After that was all packed, she rushed back outside.

Katy knew what she was doing was dangerous. It was her first real time she left the village on her own. She didn't know what the forests of the Fire country as well as her friends. For all she knew she could get lost for days and days without ever being found. The thought of getting lost in the forest forever terrified her. Then, she remembered Sasuke and the future set for him should Orochimaru get his hands on the Sharingan. She couldn't leave him to that fate of serving that guy. Orochimaru was beneath Sasuke's power and beneath his clan. There was no way she should leave him there.

Running through the village once more, Katy arrived at the gate. She hid herself from the main road in the safety of the trees. Sakura and Lee were long gone to her relief. Sakura was most likely searching for her. She was thankful for Sakura as one of the few girl friends she could ever have. However, she didn't want to have her intrude on her problems. There were some things no one but Sasuke could understand. As soon as she saw the coast was clear of both travelers and shinobi alike, she bolted for the open gate. She didn't stop running until she was well past the gate and far away, leaving the place she called home behind for what felt like the last time.

* * *

XXX

* * *

The next time Sasuke opened his eyes everything was dark.

He groaned, holding a hand to his head as it throbbed terribly.

_Ah, what the hell hit me?_ he thought through the aching pain. It felt like someone decided to smash his head against a brick wall. Repeatedly. He squeezed his eyes closed while rubbing his temples to soon the migraine until it dulled. _That's better._

Sasuke opened his eyes, but still saw darkness. Where was he? He was sure he didn't fall asleep somewhere strange. The last thing he remembered were the Sound Four-

The Sound Four.

_That's right. I left with them to go to Orochimaru_, he realized. He accepted the deal with leaving in Katy's place, so she wouldn't get worse in her condition. It was the only thing he could think of at the time to save her from being kidnapped again. He could have fought against them, but at this sate of his training he would not stand a chance against four skilled shinobi trained by Orochimaru himself. Giving himself to them was the only way to ensure Katy's safety.

Which led to his current situation.

Not that he knew what happened to him, it didn't explain where he was. He knew he was punched in the abdomen so hard he passed out seeing as how sore his stomach area felt. He rubbed the tender spot. Where in the world was he? By what he could feel, he was somewhere small and confined with a smooth surface. But where was he being held? A small cell? A box? Were they trying to ship him to Orochimaru like some mail-order bride?

The image of himself in a wedding dress, veil and white dress, popped into his head.

_I've hung around Katy too much,_ Sasuke thought, shuddering. That image was going to haunt him forever. Shaking his head, he was brought back to the situation at hand. So small and confined...Definitely a container of some sort. _It feels like wood. But what-_

His thoughts were interrupted by a motion rocking the container he was in. In such a confined space any body part not held down ere knocked into the walls or into other body parts. His head slammed against one side of the walls while his elbows rammed into his gut. He coughed. He took a while to recover when he heard loud yelling outside his prison.

From what he could make out, there were several voices yelling back and forth. Through the walls, he couldn't hear much. Sasuke pressed one ear against the wall. The yells were still muffled, but he could tell whose voices were there. Some he recognized as three of the Sound Four. The others...

"Hey, come back here!" Kiba yelled after a crash emitted.

"You're not getting Sasuke that easily!" Naruto shouted louder than usual.

_Naruto?_ Sasuke could say he was still dreaming, but he wasn't that stupid to mistake Naruto's voice. His voice was like the ringing in his ears-they never went away. _What's Naruto and Kiba doing here? Don't tell me they're trying to rescue me?_

It was expected. He knew the moment he decided to leave with the Sound Four Konoha would try to rescue him. In the series it wasn't a time they were. For once he was grateful he had friends he trusted (somewhat). And for what he was about to do, he trusted them to keep their mouths shut and never mention it again. If they could.

"Naruto? Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as loud as he could. He banged against the walls ot create a loud racket. Without much leg room he had to use his fists in an attempt to break out of the box.

"Sasuke? Sasuke, are you in there?" Naruto asked. His voice was muffled, rising high and low for an unknown reason.

"I don't know where here is!"

"They stuck you in a coffin," Shikamaru explained loud enough for him to hear. "Are you okay?"

_A coffin? They stuck me in a freakin' coffin? No wonder it's so cramped._

"I'm fine. Just bruised!"

"Good!" There were several curses. "Neji, look out!"

Sasuke heard his comrades cry out in surprise. He tried calling out to them to ask what happened but received no response. Worry overtook him. If they weren't saying anything, they were either fighting with one of the Sound Four or dead. The latter was unlikely. Naruto was too stubborn to go down so easily while the others were equally as stubborn. Lord knows Kiba was like that. They would do their best to rescue him. Hopefully.

Sasuke hated himself for having his friends rescue him. He hated being a burden to anyone like this. He knew they were going to get severely injured trying to rescue him. If he hadn't been so weak to protect Katy, he wouldn't have had to give himself up. His friends wouldn't need to come and rescue him.

_Damn it! I'm so weak! he cursed, punching the wall of the coffin. He sighed in frustration. When I get out of here I'm going to kill the Sound Four and help my friends._

Until that time comes, he had to wait impatiently in the dark.

* * *

XXX

* * *

Darkness. It was the ever present natural element in the world which people feared the most. With every light there is a darkening shadow following in its wake, growing more and more as the light fades into oblivion.

The darkness of the forest was what frightened Katy at the moment. The trees covered the light of even the moon to bring forth creatures who relished the dark of the forest. No light was present to save her from such creatures she feared were larger than her.

She hid in the crevice of a tree whose base was uprooted high enough to create an open mouth long ago. Her legs were pulled to her chest for some semblance of warmth while a cloak covered her. Still, that did nothing to stop the cold seeping into her bones.

_Cold...So cold..._She repeatedly thought. Although everything seemed cold, if one touched her skin they would find it burning to the touch. Her fever, one of the symptoms of the septic shock returning, had fanned into a flame waiting to burn her from the inside out. It was terrible. She was hot, cold, and a headache persisted to slam open her skull. For the first time she cursed herself for leaving on an impulse. She was going to get worse at this point. _I wish I could go home._

If only she could! As soon as she realized this, she thought about going back. There was but one problem with this: Katy was lost.

It was embarrassing but true. She thought she was staying on the path leading to Wind Country, which she was sure would be near Rice Country. Apparently, she wasn't and was now lost.

_Stupid. I'm so stupid_, Katy thought, curling further into herself. She was going to die out here in the wilderness. Not from lack of food or water, but from her fever. Of all the things she neglected to bring it was medicine. She knew she wouldn't last long out in a forest on her own. But, no. She wanted to save Sasuke herself. _And after he sacrificed himself to save me. I'm so stupid._

Was this how her life was going to end after everything? She was going to die out there in the wilderness to a stupid fever? She should have stayed in Konoha to get better while Naruto and Haku saved Sasuke. She would have gotten better in time for when he returned. Or, at least, that's what she would have liked to believe.

Katy bit her lip. She knew she wasn't getting any better. All the nurses gave her sad pitying looks each time they took blood samples. Even she knew what that meant. Sure, she had gotten better for a short time. But, from the gossiping each time they came to her room where she pretended to be sleeping she knew better.

They were pitying her...She hated it. Just because her blood count was low and she couldn't fight off the infections they thought they had the right to pity her. She hated pity and never liked to face it.

A loud hoot jerked Katy out of her thoughts. It scared her out of her wits. She buried her head into her lap while covering her head and whined.

"This sucks. This totally sucks." She was hot/cold, tired, and felt terrible. Why did bad stuff always have to happen to her? "I want to go home. Why do I have the worst luck in the world?"

"Hm? What's this?"

Katy jerked her head back up at the sound of a deep male voice. Through the dark a silhouette formed at the mouth of her shelter. It was a man by what she could tell with his broad shoulders and tall stature. Fear gripped her heart. After the Incident-she-shall-never-speak-of, she was afraid to be alone with a man she didn't know. She was afraid they would do something to her like last time.

The man ducked his head in order to enter the shelter. She gasped, backing away until her back met the bark of the tree.

"St-Stay back! O-Or I'll be forced to kill you!" Katy warned. If her voice wasn't weak or shaky, the threat might have worked. As it was she sounded like a frightened child.

"You? Kill me?" The man snorted at the pathetic threat. "I doubt you can kill a fly much less kill a human."

She bit her lip. The man was right. She couldn't kill anything if she tried. When she was still with Orochimaru and forced to fight the best she could do was knock out her opponent if she did win.

"You don't know that. I can kill you right now if I wanted to!"

"Oh, yeah? Then, I'd have to kill you if you did. And we both know who would win between the two of us."

Katy winced. Oh, she knew who would win and she knew for sure it wouldn't be her.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to kill you or anything," he reassured her. "I stopped by to see what was making so much noise it practically said open dinner."

"Oh." She didn't realize she was crying so loud. She was a bit relieved he wouldn't kill her when he could but tensed. "Wait, that's why you're here?"

"No, I decided I wanted to come here instead of going on my way in the middle of nowhere," he said, sarcasm practically dripping. "Speaking of being in the middle of nowhere, what's a kid like you doing here? Unless you're a Genin, which you obviously aren't, kids your age would be fast asleep. Unless..." he chuckled. "You're lost?"

She flushed, her face becoming hotter. "So what if I am? It's none of your business."

"Hey, I'm just wondering is all. I heard you crying and I thought some kid got lost out here."

"I wasn't crying!"

"Really?" The man's voice became higher into a falsetto voice that sounded oddly familiar. "I want to go home. Why do I have the worst luck in the world?"

"Sh-Shut up! I don't sound like that!"

"To me you do."

Katy's eyes narrowed. Of all the people to find her in the forest it had to be a jerk who kept mocking her. Great, she did have the worst luck in the world.

"Well, you found out what the noise was. It's me. Ta-da!" she exclaimed with little jazz hands. "Now, you can go on your merry way and leave me alone."

"Hm, I would but..." There was the small shuffle of clothing followed by a sharp flick. Light and heat sparked in front of Katy's face. She flinched at the sudden light. A hand covered in a glove tilted her head up to make her look into a dark eye, amusement dancing in the firelight. A smirk spread across a scarred face. "You got me interested. It's not every day I find a sick kid wandering through the woods."

She stared up at the older man before her. He looked to be in his late twenties as his spiky black hair stuck up every way like Naruto's. Where the left side of his face was indeed handsome the right sight was marred with ridges of old scars. The left side may have been handsome but his left eye was covered by a white eye patch, which was a sharp contrast to his black clothing. He must have been in a terrible accident to get his face reconstructed like that. What the hell happened to him? With his left hand, absent of a glove, he held a match. He dropped the match into a pile of dry sticks he must have had with him before. If she wasn't sick, she was sure her face would be red. What could she say? Give the guy a half-mask and he would be like the Phantom of the Opera, who she simply adored in the movie version.

He smirked, reclining back with one hand behind him and the other propped on a knee. "What? Cat got your tongue?"

"Psh. No. Just wondering why an old man is out past his bedtime," Katy retorted.

"So says the crybaby." He ran a hand through his hair. "So, kid, what are you doing here out on your own? Did you run away from home or something?"

"Don't call me kid! And I'm not a crybaby. Besides I have a name, you know," she snapped. "It's Kioshi."

"Okay, Kioshi. My name's Seishi. Now, are you going to answer my question or what?"

Katy wasn't sure whether or not to answer him. Here she was in the middle of a forest and some random stranger was asking here what she was doing there. Was it a good idea to tell him why she was out there? For all she knew he was going to do something to her, take advantage of her, or not do anything at all. The third choice was unlikely since he said himself he could leave her but didn't because he was interested in her. So, it was the first two she was cautious of.

Well, he already knows my name, she thought. Of course, it was her alias but still her name. And she knew his name (which might be a fake name) and they were most likely never going to see one another ever again. As she knew telling a stranger something was better than telling a friend. They would listen and never figure out the truth. Oh, why not?

"I didn't run away from home. I'm trying to save a good friend of mine from being forced into something he doesn't want. He was kidnapped, and it was all my fault," she answered quietly. "I tried to follow after them hours after they left. I figured they were heading for Rice country. But..."

"You got lost," Seishi finished. He chuckled. "Did you think about taking a map with you when you decided to go after them?"

She shook her head. "I didn't think to bring medicine either. I feel awful."

"You look awful." He reached his left hand over to put it on her forehead to her surprise. His hand was remarkably cold and soothing to her heated skin. She subconsciously leaned towards his hand. "You're hot."

"I'd beg to differ. I'm thirteen, so that's illegal," she laughed deliriously. She stopped short. "I'm sick."

"Very sick," he agreed. He removed his hand, much to her displeasure. "With a fever that bad you should be in the hospital."

"That's kinda a funny story. I escaped a hospital to go after my friend."

"...Do you have a death wish or something? Or are you this stupid?"

"I...don't know. I really don't feel good." She sighed, leaning her head on her legs once more.

"Why don't you go home? There's a town down that way you can ask for directions or find a doctor," Seishi suggested.

"I would, but I don't want to leave my friend. It's my fault he got kidnapped. Others went after him, but I don't feel any better knowing he would still be here if it wasn't for me."

He snorted. "You really are a stupid kid. You shouldn't have left if other people went to go rescue him. A kid like you should leave this kind of thing to those capable."

"I know, but...Didn't something ever happen to someone important to you and it was your fault?" she asked.

Seishi lowered his eye to stare into the fire. He looked contemplative-lost in thought and most likely in the past. She stayed silent, allowing him to think and reminense. They stayed like that for awhile. She was trying to resist the urge to cough, which could lead into a fit. Plus, he looked like he needed to think without being disturbed. She didn't want to interrupt his thoughts. Finally, he spoke."

"Yes," he said. She gazed up to see him speaking softly as if he was not entirely there. "A long time ago I had two friends. One who was annoying but he turned out to be my best friend, and the other was the girl I loved. They were so important to me I was willing to risk my very life to save them. I saved them from being killed, but almost died in the process to end up with these scars. But...Not long after I did save them, my best friend killed the one I loved. After that day, I decided I wanted to change the world to one she would be proud of. One where she would have liked to live. To this day I'm always wondering what would have happened if I didn't save my best friend from dying. If he wasn't alive, she would still be here."

"It sounds like you loved her a lot," Katy commented. The fondness in his voice spoke volumes of his feelings for this girl. But, the anguish of her death also spoke out. She kept her mouth shut of any sympathy. She didn't like sympathy from people after her brother died. She wouldn't torment someone else with it. "Do you blame him? Your best friend?"

"No. Not anymore. It doesn't matter if I hate him or not. She's dead." He paused, staring at her strangely. "I find it strange you don't sound sympathetic. With a story like mine people would normally give their condolences. Especially from one your age."

"Why should I when this happened a long time ago? It's obvious you hate hearing sympathy as much as I do when you talk about this girl."

"As much as you?"

"Yeah. I had an older brother. He died two years ago in an accident. I hate hearing how sorry people are when he's already dead. It's not like it'll bring him back. And like you, I'm always wondering if he would still be alive today if it weren't for his stupid friends. They were the ones who got him killed. Maybe if he hadn't gone with them, he wouldn't have gotten into an accident and died."

"Did you blame them?"

"Of course I blamed them. I hated them so much I wished they had died in my brother's place. My brother was always there for me when I was alone. He would always protect me whenever I was bullied me. He was the nicest brother and the only one I had. I hated his friends because my brother didn't deserve to die." She sighed with a shaky voice to calm down from her rant. "But, I wasn't the only one suffering. Other people died in that accident so I wasn't the only one in pain. Did my hatred really matter when those at fault are dead? You can't hate the dead or even blame the families of those friends. After death, nothing really matters. After that day, my best friend vowed to take my brother's place to protect me. The very one who was kidnapped is gone, and this time I'm the one at fault. If something happens to him because of me, I'm never going to forgive myself."

Sasuke was too important for Konoha to lose. She didn't matter since she was adopted into the family and not a true Uchiha. He was the last true Uchiha left. Konoha couldn't lose him to Orochimaru.

Seishi shook his head. "Did you ever think your friend expects to see you in a hospital getting better rather than out here lost and sick?"

"Yeah, but..." Katy trailed of. She knew she was stupid to rush off without any sort of plan. Sasuke would be pissed if he learned she was risking her health to rescue him. Was she really making the right decision?

Her train of thought stopped when something dropped on her head, her vision blinded. Hands scrambling, she pulled off the mysterious object to see it was Seishi's black cloak. He took it off to put it on her. She looked at him questioningly. He scowled.

"I already know what you're thinking. You're still going after your friend no matter what I say," said Seishi. It was a fact, not a question. He ruffled the back of his head. "I'll help you rescue this friend of yours. He better be important if you're trying to rescue him on your own in that kind of condition."

"R-Really?" He nodded once. "But, why? You don't really need to help me. I'm sure you have more important things to do than help me."

He shrugged. "Not really. Plus, like I said earlier, kid, you're interesting. If I let you go off on your own, my conscience is gonna be a bitch telling me I should have helped you. And, you remind me of myself and the girl I loved at that age. When I would do anything to save a friend or a comrade and she was willing to risk her own life."

For the first time that night, Katy giggled. She was glad someone cared enough to let her go save her friend rather than tell her it was a bad idea. She didn't need to be reminded of that fact when she knew it herself. The support she recieved made up for that matter.

"Thank you, Seishi."

"You can thank me after we get him," he grumbled.

Katy smiled. Who knew strangers were kind? She wrapped the cloak around her. Fortunately, it was more than enough to cover herself with. She snuggled her nose against the fabric. It smelt faintly of the rain and sweet dango. She yawned, lying down on her side.

"G'night," she mumbled.

"Night."

The dark normally frightened Katy. But she didn't mind it at all if someone was there to find her.

* * *

**Ok, so alot of things happened in this chapter. I know there's a lot of Katy parts, but Sasuke is currently trapped in a _coffin._ There's not much that boy can do other than listen to the Rescue Team shouting and stuff while he's stuck there. And, plot development! Yay, plot development! I dropped so many hints on who 'Seishi' really is it's not even funny. With that plot point the story is going to be ending soon. Like, really soon. Two or three chapters left. And since I've been writing the chapters little by little every day it's gonna be done soon with school wrapping up for the summer in three weeks. Yay!  
**

**So, please review!**

**P.S. Fun fact: I got the name Seishi from the creator of _Naruto_, Masashi Kishimoto's, twin brother. Who's art style is so similar to Masashi's, I swear to God in one of his manga series there's a character who could be the love child of Sasuke and Naruto. No joke. Oddly enough, I prefer his works to Masashi's. Especially his one-shot on Cinderella. It's my favorite one-shot.  
**


	37. Goodbyes

Chapter 37

The next morning found Katy in one of the most uncomfortable situations she's ever been in.

She walked behind Seishi as they made their way through the forest. Seishi did not mind leading, although she was the one who was supposed to be doing so. Katy wasn't sure where she was headed in the first place. She didn't care he was leading them as long as they caught up to the Sound Four. However, she wasn't comfortable with following a man she barely knew. For all she knew he was lying. Not that she could tell. It wasn't like she was some human lie detector who could tell if someone was fibbing by their body or voice. Heck, no (Although, she thought that was pretty cool)! She was terrible at reading people. She couldn't tell a lie from the truth if it stared at her in the face! Or, that's what Sasuke tells her. He could be brutally honest when he wants to be.

Seishi had to have some ulterior motive, she was sure of it. No man would help a stranger just because said stranger was interesting. That's not how life worked. Life was cruel and full of hidden evils. With free will people could go towards the path of sin if given the right or wrong choice. Free will could be scary sometimes.

"Oi, would you quit glaring at my back? I can practically feel my back burning up," Seishi said, loudly.

"Sorry. Can't help it," she muttered.

"Then, stop it. I can hear you thinking too loud, too."

"Oh, so what? You're a mind reader?"

Seishi stopped. He turned to her to give her a look. "I don't need to be a mind reader to know you don't trust me."

"Can you blame me? You're practically a stranger! For all I know you might kill me and dump my body somewhere where nobody can find it," Katy ranted, gasping at the end. Oh, dear. Her condition wasn't helping the situation at all.

"...You're one paranoid kid, did you know that?"

"Well, when you almost get raped by a stranger you tend to be paranoid."

Seishi raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding."

"I'm not. Not to mention getting kidnapped and experimented on doesn't help my paranoia at all."

He stared at her for a mere second. One corner of his lips twitched upward. Before she knew it, he was laughing hysterically.

"You...You are a trouble magnet in disguise! You weren't kidding when you said you have the worst luck ever!" he laughed. "How did your friend put up with you?"

"He got mad at me at first. After I nearly got raped, he decided it was high time he taught me how to defend myself. He said he was sick of rescuing me and, frankly, I agree. I'm no damsel-in-distress! I can take care of myself!" Katy exclaimed, nodding at her resolve.

It was destroyed when Seishi snorted.

"Yes, you certainly can. It's why I'm leading you to help your friend," he said sarcastically.

"Hey! I know where we're going! You just decided to lead!"

"Then, you certainly don't need my help."

"No, I didn't! You offered to help. I don't need it if you don't _want_ to help."

He tilted his head. "And why wouldn't I help? After all..."

In the blink of an eye Katy found Seishi in front of her. He leaned down so his face was close to her own where she could see the scars on the right side of his face more prominently. His lips were set in a familiar cocky smirk while his hand gripped her chin.

"I happen to like helping those in need. Especially the young and elderly."

Katy flushed. He was way too close! She slapped the hand away and took a step back to gain distance between them. "And you're a pedophile! Go take your help somewhere else, you creepy perv."

He laughed again. "This is why you're interesting. You have the funniest expressions and reactions."

"Jerk! That's it! I'm going to Oto on my own if you keep making fun of me!" she barked. She stomped her way past him to continue walking. However, she was stopped when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. Looking back, her breath was caught upon seeing his eye narrowed in a glare. Which, again, was familiar.

"Oto? As in Otogakure? You were trying to go there? Why?" Seishi demanded harshly. It was a sharp contrast to his easy going attitude seconds ago.

His tone made her flinch. The fact he was gripping her wrist too tightly added to her reaction.

"T-The people who kidnapped my friend were from there. They were heading there."

"Was your friend kidnapped on the orders of Orochimaru?"

Katy's breath hitched. Her initial mistrust of him doubled. "...Yes. How do you know Orochimaru?"

"Who doesn't know about Orochimaru? Everyone and their mother know and hate him. If your friend was taken by him, there's no point in trying to get him back," he informed her, releasing his hold.

"No! I know I can get him back! It's my fault they took him!" she argued. "They want me, not him. If I could get away, then so can he!"

"You..." Seishi studied her for a moment. She felt as if he was probing into her very _soul._ Shivering, she held his intense gaze. "You said you were kidnapped and experimented on. Were _you_ experimented on by Orochimaru?"

Her lips thinned. That was not a question she wanted to answer. Even for close friends, she still had trouble telling it to those who didn't know.

"I'll take that as a yes." He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his black spikes. "Geez, you're not only interesting. Your life is complicated. You do realize they're halfway across the country by this point. You would've never caught up to them on your own."

"I know that! But, I didn't want to sit around and wait," Katy snapped. "Do you have any idea how much it sucks waiting around being useless? I _hate_ being useless! So, whether you want to take me to Oto or not is your choice. I don't care if I'm lost. I'm still going."

She started to walk off again. She would find Oto on her own. She didn't need some creepy old pervert's help. After taking but a few steps, she yelped as her feet were swept off the ground. Before gravity could pull her down, someone caught her and held her tightly. She lifted her eyes the moment a rush of air came from upwards to glare at the culprit.

"What's the big idea?" she demanded.

"I said I'm going to help you so I will," said Seishi. He nimbly landed on a tree branch to jump onto another in front of him. The leaves barely rustled from how fast he was running. "Even though it's completely suicidal, I'm seeing this through. Plus, I'll get to piss off Orochimaru. It's a win-win."

The reality of what he was hit her as she stared at him for the first time. He was a shinobi with no affiliation to a village as far as she knew. He also knew of Orochimaru. Uh-oh.

"Who _are_ you?"

"Just a guy helping a little girl in need." He smirked. Again, it was so familiar. She couldn't put a finger on it though.

"Or, maybe a pervert with an agenda," she muttered.

"Keep calling the person carrying you a pervert again. Let's see what happens." He glanced down at the ground below.

Katy gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"Hm, I don't know. I've always wondered if little girls could land on their feet like cats can," Seishi hummed, contemplatively.

"Drop me, you perv, and I swear to Ka-_MI!_" She shrieked as he dropped her. Her stomach dropped the moment she began to fall through the air. Before she thought she was going to meet the ground, he caught her again. When he touched her once more she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck for security.

"Word of advice: don't call the person carrying you a perv," he laughed.

"You crazy old man! You psycho-"

Katy screamed again when he jostled his arms so he almost dropped her. She clung to Seishi tightly and buried her head into his shoulder, praying to God she would soon be rid of this strange, psychotic man. Her reaction drew a laugh from him.

This rescue mission wasn't starting so well.

* * *

For most of the morning Seishi continued jumping through the branches with Katy in his arms. It wasn't as silent as Katy would have liked because Seishi would randomly pretend to drop her. She would curse up a storm at his smug grin. It didn't help every time he did so she felt like she was going to faint. God, with all these random drops it was like a drop ride in an amusement park. She _despised_ those rides.

"Will you quit _doing that?!"_ Katy shrieked after he dropped and caught her for the fifteenth time that morning.

"Aw, but it's so fun," he said with a slight pout.

"You're a grown man! I don't care if you think it's fun. You're gonna kill me!"

"Yeah, because traveling through a forest on your own won't get you killed."

"I meant an outside cause, you jerk!"

"You need to lighten up," Seishi lightly commented. "Stress won't help you get any better. You're going to get wrinkle lines before you're thirty."

"And _you_ need to be more serious. How the hell did you become a shinobi when you act like this?" Katy retorted.

""What makes you think I'm a shinobi?"

She stared at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You're jumping from tree to tree with chakra."

"Maybe I happened to learn it?"

"Yeah, and I just happened to have been experimented on. Dude, you're a ninja. I might be a kind, but I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say you were stupid."

"But you were thinking it."

"And you accused me of being a mind reader?" he retorted. He shook his head, stray leaves falling from his black locks. "Again, I say you're way too paranoid. Granted, you have the right to do so. But, you're just a kid. A civilian at that. Shouldn't you be enjoying your childhood while it lasts?"

"Maybe," Katy muttered. She used to have a childhood. That was before she was dragged her to help her friend from losing his own childhood. Now she wasn't sure if she had a childhood left to enjoy.

Before she could begin to lament her lost childhood, Seishi abruptly came to a stop. The motion caused her to jerk out of her thoughts violently. She was about to yell at him before she see the steely hard gaze he held. It was the one he scared her with earlier. Following his sight, her own widened at the several broken trees in their path. The devastation was terrible with several man-made holes in the trees, splintered branches, fallen trees, and even several gashes in the forest floor below. The amount of blood splatters didn't help to let Katy know a hard battle was fought.

"Tch. I should've figured," Seishi clicked with his tongue. "Orochimaru _would_ use his best guards to escort your friend. And with nothing but Konoha genin to retrieve your friend I expected this to happen."

"What are you saying-" She stopped, looking down at the ground. Two figures were lying motionless there near one another. One, recognized as Kidomaru. The other was Neji. Both were worse for wear with blood pooling around them, Neji in particular. "Neji!"

"He's one of the shinobi sent to retrieve your friend?"

"Yeah. Oh, my God. Neji..." Katy wanted to cry and vomit at the sight of the Hyuuga clan genius. She may have disliked him in the beginning for how he treated Hinata, but she didn't wish _that_ to happen to him. Hinata told her their relationship was getting better. She knew he would live. That didn't make her feel any better. It was harder for her to see him like this for herself.

"If this is how a battle ends with Orochimaru's men, we better hurry," he said. "As much as I dislike Konoha, I'd rather not see the young risk their lives like this. I doubt you want to see any of your friends die either."

She shook her head, a tear sliding down her cheek. Knowing most of the boys would end up in critical condition, she didn't want it to actually happen. Seeing Neji in his current state really shook her beliefs once more. These scenes were much harder to bear in real life.

"At this point I have no doubt Orochimaru will send back-up to ensure his prize arrives. I wouldn't put it past him." He looked down at Katy with a smile. She blinked at him. He never smiled at her before. "Kioshi, I'm going to ask you to close your eyes for a bit. I have a way to reach your friends much faster, but you have to keep your eyes closed the entire time. Got it?"

"R-Really? Why do I have to close my eyes?" she asked.

"This jutsu will make you a little nauseous and if you have your eyes open you might get sick. With the way you are I know it's a possibility."

"Is it that bad?"

"A bit. It helps if you keep your eyes closed. So, you ready?"

"...Yeah."

Katy quickly squeezed her eyes closed. She tightened her hold around his neck the same moment he tightened his hold on her own body. Suddenly, an unpleasant squeezing sensation wrapped her entire body. She couldn't breathe as it felt like she was being compressed into a smaller form. The experience made her stomach churn. Seishi was right. She would have lost what little breakfast she had that morning.

The sensation lasted for a while with a small break in the middle. She wondered what kind of jutsu could cause this kind of feeling. Definitely not anything she knew about. Finally, just as she was sure she was going to vomit, the sensation abruptly faded and she could breathe again.

Something cold and damp filtered into her nose that smelled like wet mud after a rainy day. Water droplets misted onto her clammy cheek as water crashed off onto water somewhere nearby.

"Alright. You can open your eyes now," Seishi said.

She did so.

Peeking her eyes open, Katy first saw Seishi's face. He was looking down at her with a blank yet strange expression. She shifted her head to the side and gasped. They were standing on the edges of a forest facing an enormous lake and cliff face. It wasn't the lake that amazed her. It was the cliff. The cliff was practically carved with two giant statues of men in armor. The two statues faced one another with a single hand curled into a seal. In between the two was a waterfall cascading onto the lake. She knew this place.

"The Valley of the End? How did we get here so fast? We could've have been close to the border," Katy wondered. As far as she knew they weren't originally anywhere close to reaching the border of Rice Country and Fire Country.

"That's my little secret." Seishi pried her arms from his neck where it was in a death grip to set her legs down for her to stand. She managed to stand but felt a little unsteady on her feet. After hours of tree jumping and not moving from a single position, her legs fell asleep. "Alright, kid. You're going to have to stay here for a bit while I go fetch your friend."

"Wait, you're _leaving_ me? But I want to help," she said incredulously.

"No way. You're only going to get in my way."

"No, I won't!"

He gave her a look that said otherwise.

"Yes, you are," he said flatly. "You're a civilian. A kid, at that. You couldn't stand a chance against the Oto ninja. So, you're staying here and you'll wait here until I get back. Got it?"

"No! I don't! You're not telling me _anything!_ How do I know you're going to come back at all?" Katy was getting frustrated with this man. How dare he tell her to wait there like a child while he retrieved _her_ best friend? Why would he do that? _She_ wanted to go get Sasuke or at least help Seishi. She wasn't stupid enough to take on an Oto nin on her own. He was doing all of this for her but expected no reward. Why on Earth would he do that? She loved mysteries yet even this this was too much for her.

"I'll come back. I promise," he reassured her.

She shook her head. "Nu-uh. I'm not trusting a guy like you with such a flimsy promise."

"I don't make flimsy promises," he argued. "When I make a promise to someone I always keep it. I understand you don't exactly trust me. I wouldn't either. So, I'm going to have to do this."

Seishi reached into some unknown pocket on his person. Withdrawing his hand, he pulled out a pair of cracked, bright orange goggles. If that didn't completely confuse her, then when he slipped them on her head it did.

"Um...?" Katy hummed, tilting her head.

"Those are my goggles from my childhood, so they're very important to me," he answered. "Consider them a down payment for my promise. I'll be taking those back when I return with your friend."

"Um, okay?" She didn't know what to think of this whole situation. He gave her his goggles as way to keep his promise? How strange. By this point, Katy decided to go with the flow. This whole thing was confusing her and hurting her head. It was better not to question it.

"Okay, then. I'll be right back." Seishi gave her one final smile. Katy blinked at the strangeness of it and he was suddenly gone. She found herself alone.

Katy couldn't believe all of this was happening to her and she didn't know what was going on. This man, Seishi, gave her a perfect chance to try to save Sasuke because she knew she couldn't do it on her own. When she realized he was a shinobi that made it all the more better. She should have realized this man would have his own methods and plans. All without asking her opinion in this. She wasn't sure what to do now that he left her here on his own without a way to get back home. What if he _was_ leaving her here? What was she going to do? Maybe he wouldn't come back.

_No, he will._ A hand touched the old goggles lying on the top of her head. She saw how much he cared for these. She saw it in his eyes. It was the same way she treated her necklace-with fondness and care. It was very precious to him. He would come back to these and her with Sasuke in tow. She trusted him to do that much now that he left something special in her care. She gazed back up to the two statues, ignoring her whole body shivering violently. _Please let him come back safe._

All she could do was hope at this point.

* * *

XXX

* * *

Sasuke cursed for what felt like the millionth time. With the bumping, sharp jerk, and sudden drops in a long period of time (it was hard to tell time in the dark) he was more than ready to kill someone. More in particular, the remaining Sound Four members. They were really starting to piss him off at this point. Why couldn't his friends rescue him? What was taking them so long?

This chase had been going on for hours, or what he assumed were hours. He would have been bored out of his mind had they not taken to throwing the container he was in like an American football. The way they threw him around not only gave him a migraine it made him want to spill his guts in a very violent manner. In such a confined space Sasuke was certain he would have. But, he tried hard not to and was succeeding so far. At this point he was getting sick of all of this. At the moment all he could hear were his remaining friends-Kiba, Naruto, Haku, and Shikamaru-yelling after Sakon, Ukon, and Tayuya.

After his head knocked on the wood as the coffin tilted sharply, Sasuke had enough.

"Watch how you're handling this thing! There's a living body in here, damn it!" Sasuke growled.

"Shut up, Uchiha! Keep quiet and we won't have to kill you," Tayuya shot back.

"Bitch! When I get out of here I'll kill _you!_" He was never much for violent language, but these past few hours were really testing his patience. Thank God Katy wasn't here. She would call him a hypocrite. He punched the top of the coffin, or what he thought was the top, for good measure.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Let me out of here and we'll find-"

Sasuke was interrupted by another sharp jerk. He slammed his forehead onto the other side of the coffin. He cursed but noticed no outer movement. They had stopped.

"Damn it, what were those idiots Jiroubou and Kidomaru doing?" Tayuya cursed.

"Yeah, I'll kill them all within seconds!" Sakon shouted.

Sasuke heard Naruto's voice cry out. It was incredibly close by at least a foot. Whole he may have been deprived of his sight, his other senses like his hearing were enhanced. The sound of fighting, battle cries, and groans of pain filled his muffled ears. A sharp sound like whirling wind followed as Kiba's signature move, Fang-over-Fang, came into play.

"Damn it, he got me," Tayuya growled.

"Kage mane no jutsu, success," Shikamaru declared somewhere close to his right.

Suddenly, something hit against the top of the coffin and Sasuke found himself flipped upside down. With nothing to hold onto he slammed against everything until his center of gravity was righted once more. He cursed again but it was drowned out by Sakon's yelling. Then, with a jerk, he knocked into the wall behind him.

"Nice one, Kiba, Shikamaru!" Naruto praised. This time, he was annoyingly close as if he were right next to him.

"Sasuke, are you okay? Can you hear me?' Haku asked, also close.

"No, I'm not okay! You try being stuck in a damn coffin and thrown everywhere!" Sasuke yelled. His patience was being held by a threat at this point. He wanted out of this thing now!

"Well, he sounds fine," Kiba laughed somewhere from behind.

"Good. Everything went according to plan," Shikamaru said further behind Kiba. "They were talented, but they weren't good enough. We were one or two steps ahead of them."

"Good. We can head back to Konoha now," Haku sighed in relief.

"Yeah." Sasuke slumped in the same relief. Thank God. He knew his comrades would rescue him before they ever reached Oto. With the way things were happening he was certain he would actually be brought to Orochimaru to gain the curse seal. He should have never doubted everyone's abilities with Haku thrown into the mix. This was the second time he rescued him. Still, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. His retrieval wasn't this easy, he remembered. Not in the series. Everyone got hurt and some were put in critical condition. What was he missing? Then, he gasped with dread. He forgot there was one more person involved. "Damn it!"

Explosions and falling trees went off from behind. There were several shouts along with Akamaru's barking. But, Kiba cried out as another explosion occurred.

"Kiba! Akamaru!" Naruto screamed, panicked.

"Damn it!" Shikamaru cursed.

"I'll go after them," Haku said.

"No, Haku, don't-"

"Naruto, what's going on?" Sasuke demanded. He didn't like being kept in the dark.

"Haku's gone after Kiba and Akamaru. Now, the other one's come," Shikamaru said, frustrated. "We have no choice. I'll do something. Naruto, take Sasuke and go on ahead."

"Shikamaru?"

"Hurry up and go!"

Sasuke gasped again the moment he heard something land on top of the coffin. When it kicked the coffin (he was certain it was a kick) his stomach dropped and landed the same moment the coffin landed on another surface. Sasuke knew Naruto nor Shikamaru did anything.

"You're too late, Tayuya," said a new young man's voice. It was stoic and cold. "Where are the other three? We were the Sound Five."

Sasuke knew who it was. The missing member of the former Sound Five.

_Kimimaro._

"What are you...? Your body..." Tayuya trailed off as if afraid to say anything offensive. Which was ridiculous to comprehend with her attitude.

"My body is broken. I am using my will power to move it."

"Damn you. Don't you know when to die?"

"I understand a little now. This conscious feeling of life after being released from the prison of my body. This feeling of touching a part of Lord Orochimaru's dream. This container is an important dream container. This is the body Lord Orochimaru really wants. But, you guys were late."

Sasuke scrambled to remember everything about Kimimaro. There wasn't a lot on Kimimaro outside of this arc. It all happened so fast before the first part ended. Plus, everything that happened in Shippuden overshadowed what he knew about Orochimaru and his men. It was hard to remember anything during these past couple months. All he knew was that Kimimaro had a bone kekkei genkai and he was dying at the moment. That's all he remembered. He wished he knew more.

"Hey, you! Quit babbling! Give Sasuke back!" Naruto yelled, enraged.

"Naruto, wait!" Shikamaru yelled after them.

Sasuke was unsure of what happened, but after two yells from Naruto and Shikamaru their voices were gone. The coffin shifted again. By the jerking underneath him, he guessed it was either Kimimaro or Tayuya who was carrying him. He was willing to be his life on the former.

_Unbelievable,_ he growled. He punched a wall with a curled fist. Shit. Here's where things got complicated. Kimimaro may be dying, yet he was still stronger than all of the other members of the Sound Five. In the series the Uchiha (whom he hasn't referred to in awhile. He hated to admit it but he couldn't tell the difference between him and the series Sasuke) would break out of the coffin to run off to the Valley of the End to have an epic battle with Naruto. Meanwhile, Kimimaro would try to stall Naruto and end up fighting Lee and Gaara where Kimimaro would die in the middle of an attack. Of course, none of that would happen because Sasuke wasn't here of his own free will. Sasuke didn't have a curse mark to rely on to reach the final stage and break out of this _damn coffin!_ He really hated this coffin at this point. He _hated _it. Almost as much as he hated Orochimaru. _If I ever see that bastard, I swear I'm going to rip his head off and break it into a million pieces. I swear to _God,_ I'm gonna do it!_

Sasuke couldn't understand what went through all of the Sound Five's heads when they decided to go to Orochimaru. Containers, hosts, and living weapons-Did these people not realize their lives meant nothing to that man? He was willing to toy with their bodies and manipulate their minds however he wanted like he was playing God. How could they have such loyalty to such a monster? Who has committed heinous acts against nature itself? He knew they were all orphans. They had no one in the world who wanted them. Orochimaru, who did, came by and gave them a reason to live. But, still…How could they die at the command of a pseudo-god? And this was one of the many reasons he was glad Itachi decided to take away his memories. He would have reached the level of insanity they all reached if he had a thirst for revenge and decided Orochimaru could give him power.

For awhile he forced to sit in the darkness and in silence. Apart from the soft bumps underneath him Sasuke was sure he would have fallen asleep. This was the first time in hours there was silence. All he could hear previously was yelling and curses. Now, there was complete silence. Since he had been awake for a better part of a night and day, the bumps were slightly soothing. It reminded him of long car rides he took with Mari. Any car ride longer than an hour and he would be out like a light. The darkness didn't help either. Even now, he felt his eyelids slipping closed and his head beginning to nod.

_Damn…I should probably stay awake._ Despite his thoughts, he slumped against the wall. He was reaching his limit. _Maybe, just a few minutes…won't hurt._

Sasuke was about to slip into a sleep where he would be dead to the world. However, he jerked back awake as the coffin was dropped back down onto a level surface. Sitting up as best as he could, he shook away the sleep the moment he heard Naruto.

"Hey," he heard Naruto faintly growl. He sounded pissed. "What does Orochimaru want? Why is he after Sasuke?!"

"Lord Orochimaru has already completed the jutsu of immortality," Kimimaro said with a faint voice. "In order to acquire all jutsu and the entire world, he needs time."

"What does that have to do with Sasuke?"

"Immortality doesn't necessarily indicate the immortality of his body. He must replace his body with a newer and stronger one before his current one succumbs. That girl was once the one who would become Lord Orochimaru's new body. But, she wasn't the exact body he wanted. She was far too weak in her resolve. This one is a sufficient replacement."

"You…That's why Katy went through all that pain? That's what Sasuke's for?!"

"Yes. Exactly."

"You bastard! Katy isn't some puppet! And I'm not a damn replacement for anything!" Sasuke yelled. That heartless bastard. How dare he call Katy weak! She was anything but! She was a strong girl who cared for her friends. She was anything but weak.

"I won't let you do such a thing!" Naruto roared. "I won't let you take Sasuke!"

An epic battle was certain to unfold. Sasuke knew it. He watched this arc so many times he knew how the battles turned out. He only liked this arc for the battles because it showed the true strength of some of the Konoha genin. They did almost die, but those battles were what made them stronger. Naruto would be able to have easier time fighting because Kimimaro couldn't match Naruto's strength. Knowing this, Sasuke expected to lean back and wait for Naruto to finish this battle with Lee and possibly Gaara. He expected it would take awhile.

But, as he found out, nothing went according to the series.

He was caught off guard the moment the coffin flipped over once again. In a split second he was righted back up as it landed with a slam. The world suddenly fell silent like it was put on pause. Sasuke couldn't understand why the fighting would stop before it began. What was going on out there?

"Yo, sorry, I'm interrupting your little play date," said a deep voice. It took on a playful and sarcastic tone. "Don't mind me. I'm just here to take a little present back home. I'm sure this will be the perfect present for the wife, don't you think?"

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded, his syllables ending in a growl.

"Oh, no one special. Just passing by when I heard a little commotion here. And, lookie at what I found! A little blond brat with a tiny temper and a snake's little skeleton display about to have a fun play date. Oh, I'm finding a lot of fun things lately. Must be my birthday!"

"Don't joke around! Give Sasuke back!"

"Who's joking around? All I see here is a joke of a fight. Really, fighting against a walking dead man? And you're both fighting over another dead person inside a _coffin,"_ the man scoffed.

"Sasuke isn't dead! Give him BACK!"

A large wave of evil and strong chakra penetrated all around Sasuke. Even inside a coffin where he couldn't exactly sense chakra, he felt the rage-filled chakra reach him. Sasuke couldn't breathe. He's felt the Kyuubi chakra when Naruto gets mad. That didn't mean he was used to it. Because the chakra was like a beacon, he sensed the chakra come charging towards them and suddenly underneath him the moment the mysterious man jumped.

"Wow, would you look at that? Blondie's pretty pissed now, isn't he?" the man mocked with a slight high-pitch tone. Something about that tone was familiar somehow. Sasuke didn't know how. "Whelp! Sorry, Blondie. But, the dead guy inside this coffin is wanted by someone else. I'm not telling you who, though!"

"YOU BAST-" Naruto's roar of rage was abruptly cut off. His chakra also suddenly disappeared.

Sasuke didn't know how or why he was cut off all of a sudden. That entire scene was strange because of the mysterious man. He sat there in a stunned daze, unsure of what to make of this entire thing. Who was this man? Why did he want him? What the hell was going on? He had all of these questions but none of the answers until he got out of the stupid coffin. Maybe then he would understand who this man was and what he wanted with him.

But, his questions were wiped from his mind when he heard a voice.

"Seishi? Is Sasuke in there?" Katy's voice said, drifting closer with each word.

_Katy? What the hell?_ Sasuke thought. Now, he was confused. Why was he hearing Katy's voice?

"Yup! Told you I'd come back with your friend in tow," chirped the man in a peppy tone. What kind of decent man would willingly sound like that, Sasuke wondered.

"Um, yeah. Looks like you were right. But, um…" Her voice stopped directly next to the coffin so it was almost crystal clear. "If he's in the coffin, how are we going to get him out?"

"Hm, good point. Lucky for you I think I know how to get him out. You might want to stand back for this."

"Is whatever you're doing going to hurt Sasuke?" Katy asked, worried.

"Not sure. Let's find out!"

Sasuke suddenly found himself worried as well. He didn't know who this man was, though Katy seemed to, and he may use a technique that may kill him. He was afraid for his life. He squeezed his eyes closed in the case of whatever did happen he wouldn't be killed in the process. With a tense body he waited for whatever to happen.

There was a light surge of chakra. The dark chakra above him (which he felt constantly but tried to ignore during this whole time) pulsed strongly for a few moments. Then, it dissipated. All of the stale air he was in for several hours swept out to allow fresh, misty air into lungs. It smelled as if he were by a lake, which wasn't as far-fetched when water crashed onto another water source in the distance.

Sasuke opened his eyes. He had to start squinting the moment he did because he was in the dark for several hours. While he waited for his vision to refocus, he straightened back up to find his head not hitting the low ceiling from before.

"Sasuke? Sasuke, are you alright? Can you hear me?" Katy asked, frantically. A gentle hand touched his shoulder.

"I…don't know," he groaned. He rubbed his eyes and blinked repeatedly. His eyes soon focused and he looked up to see Katy hovering over him as she leaned over the opening of the coffin. He let out a sigh of relief. "God, I feel terrible."

"I'm sure," she said with a shaky smile. She grabbed underneath his arm to lift him to his feet. "Come on. You need to stretch those legs. Hours inside a coffin couldn't have been comfortable."

Sasuke nodded. He allowed Katy to help pull him out of the coffin. Stepping onto a soft ground, Katy let go of him while he raised his arms to stretch out his back and arms until they popped. Once they did, he sighed in satisfaction and started to stretch out the rest of his body. His legs were asleep, his thighs ached and his lower back was tense. As he stretched, he examined his body. He wasn't surprised to see on his bare arms and legs bruises littered them.

"Wow. Being in that coffin must have been rough. You were painted black and blue," Katy commented.

"Just a bit." Once Sasuke finished stretching out, he straightened back up from bending over to face Katy. She looked worse for wear with bags under her eyes while a black cloak covered her. On her back was her bag. What he found strange were the orange goggles on her head. Sasuke would have thought it was nice to see Katy again after everything that happened. Instead, anger and frustration bubbled inside him. He slapped her upside the head. "You idiot! What are you doing here? You should be in a hospital, not here in the middle of nowhere!"

"Ow! Okay, that hurt." She whined, holding her head. "Glad to see you're completely fine. Ow."

"You won't be if you won't tell me why you're here," he growled.

"After you left me on a stone bench in the middle of the night," Katy snapped with a slight glare in her eyes, "I woke up to tell Tsunade you were gone. Shikamaru got together the retrieval team and Sakura, Lee, and I watched them leave and I…I couldn't just stay in the village while they were getting you. You were kidnapped because you tried to save me. If anything happened to you because of me, I wouldn't have forgiven myself. So, I grabbed some stuff and left the village to come after you."

"My God, you really are an idiot." Sasuke shook his head while his anger calmed down. However, the frustration remained along with exasperation. Katy…Oh, Katy, what would he do with or without her? She could be sweet in her attempts, but she was a complete moron executing them. This was most likely the worst plan she could have ever made. "You left the safety of the village to follow after me, despite my sacrifice to keep you in there? Do you see the problems with that?"

"Of course I see the problems with that. That didn't change how guilty I felt for making you do that. You're always protecting me, Sasuke. I understand that. I usually don't mind but this was one time I did mind."

_She cares too much,_ he thought with fondness. Katy was the type who would never stop caring, especially with him. Through all of their faults and their constant teasing, they knew they cared for each other. He may love to mock and tease her, but that didn't mean he hated her. It was the one way he showed he loved and cared for her. Was it really her fault she wanted to save her? _Damn…I really can't blame her._

"How on earth did you get here in-" He took a moment to look around. His surprise mounted when he saw they were standing on a cliff facing two giant statues with a waterfall between them. No way. "The Valley of the End?"

"Oh. A…friend helped me get here. Well, he wasn't really a friend," she stammered. "He found me last night in the forest when I got lost. He offered to help me find you and he kept his promise. He brought me here while he went to go get you."

"Are you telling me a random stranger you didn't know offered to help you rescue me? A random strange man you didn't know offered to do that?" Sasuke asked, incredulously.

She nodded with a sheepish smile.

"I don't believe it. Your stupidity knows no bounds."

"I was desperate! I was scared and lost! What else could I do? He offered to help and I took it. Other than acting like a creepy old perv, he didn't have any bad motives for me."

"Katy!"

"What? You saw him! He's creepy but nice. I think."

"Katy, I didn't see the man you're talking about," Sasuke stated slowly. "He came in and took the coffin right from under Kimimaro's nose. I couldn't see or anything from inside the coffin at all."

"What? But, Seishi-" Katy stopped. She looked around the area with disbelief. Sasuke didn't even sense the man she spoke of. Were it not for for hearing his voice himself earlier, Sasuke would have thought she made the man up. Her jaw dropped. "I-I don't understand. Seishi was just here! He opened the coffin himself! I swear I didn't make him up! I swear he-"

She cut herself off when her breath hitched. Her face screwed into one of pain as a hand grabbed at her chest. Alarm bells rang in Sasuke's head. He grabbed her wrist to pull away from her chest. Then, he pressed two fingers against her wrist. He cursed at the too fast heartbeat pulsing under his fingertips. Her breathing was also way too fast to be normal.

"You shouldn't have left the hospital. You still have severe sepsis and being out here isn't helping you," Sasuke sternly said.

"I-I'm fine," she panted. She tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace.

"No, you're lying to yourself. You're _not_ fine."

Something inside Sasuke snapped. After the frustration of the last few weeks where he worried about Katy's illness and the added kidnapping a few hours ago, Sasuke had enough. He knew a way to fix all of this. He wouldn't have to deal with anymore kidnappings or diseases or even Orochimaru because he had a single solution that could fix all of this. Only, it would make him infinitely melancholy for the coming few weeks.

"That's it. You're going home," he decided, definitely.

"Excuse me?" Katy asked, caught off guard. "Of course we're going home. Come on. Let's go back to Konoha."

He shook his head. "No. That's not what I meant. Katy, I'm sending you back where you belong. You don't belong in this world. You're putting yourself in danger if you stay here?"

"Danger? What danger? Everything's fine."

"If you hadn't noticed, you're in a world full of shinobi. Everyone here is a trained killer where they can easily overpower you. Tsunade said you're the only civilian Uchiha. People will come to take you away be it Orochimaru or someone else."

"Bu-But how am I going to get home? We never found a way to get back!" she exclaimed with astonishment.

"You didn't. Before any of this happened, I found a scroll containing a technique that messed with dimensional space. It allows the user to send anyone they choose to another dimension," he lied. In all honesty he found no scroll like that. The technique was true as it was the one Itachi used to send him to the United States. Itachi kept his promise and taught him the jutsu when he was still sick in bed.

"Really? But, do I have to go home? I want to stay here with you and Haku and everyone."

"No. You're in too much danger here. You need to go home."

Sasuke could have sworn his heavily guarded heart cracked when her expression fell to one of devastation and anxiety. The look she gave him was so heartbroken. Her bottom lip quivered as she swallowed.

"I'm going to miss you, Sasuke," Katy said, quietly. Her voice shook, eyes beginning to glisten. "You're my best friend."

He reached out to her. His arms wrapped underneath her arms so he could pull her into a hug as tightly as he could. She did the same, clenching her fists on the back of his shirt.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Katy," he muttered with great sincerity. A pit formed in his stomach at the thought of ever using this technique. He asked to learn the jutsu, yet he was afraid to use it. He wasn't ready to say goodbye. At this point he didn't have a choice. "You're my best friend and like a sister. We've been through so much together. You're the only one I can truly trust. No one could replace the hole you're leaving behind."

She choked up. He began to feel a wet spot forming on his shoulder. "No one can replace you, Kuya. I promise you that."

He did not say anything, but his comforting embrace said it all. He was never going to see Katy again. He might be lucky if he could should Katy ever returned. However, that might not be for years. If he returned after five years, who knew about Katy? She might never come back here again since she wasn't born here. It was hard to tell if that was a good thing or a bad one. He was torn.

After a moment of silence and tears on Katy's part, Sasuke released her. She rubbed away at her tears, smearing on her face. She sniffled.

"Are you going to send me home now?"

Sasuke nodded. He reached into his pouch to pull out a small scroll. Placing it on the floor, he unrolled it. A puff of smoke emitted as it rolled open and cleared away to reveal the stack of _Naruto_ manga they brought here. Katy stared down at the manga questionably as if to ask why he would have those in a scroll.

"I was planning this for the past few weeks. I thought it best to keep these close at hand instead of out in the open," he explained. He grabbed Katy's bag from off her shoulders. He unzipped it, upended it to allow her provisions fall out, and replaced them with the manga. Zipping it back up, he handed the bag back to her. He swallowed. It was time. "Right. Time to go home."

Katy hesitantly nodded.

Sasuke made a single hand seal with his right hand like his brother shown him. In his mind's eye he pictured her mother's home where she was sure to find her daughter and seek medical attention. The moment he thought of it, his hand flashed white. Then, he placed his hand on Katy's chest. When it made contact Katy was engulfted in a flash of bright light. He had to cover his eyes from going blind. The light soon disappeared and when he uncovered his eyes, Katy was gone. He was alone with but crashing water in the background. He stared at the space where Katy once stood. Grief washed over him like a gentle wave.

_I'm going to miss her._

He would surely miss Katy. He was honest when he once said Katy made his day pass by. Her bright personality would unconsciously brighten his day like the dawn. It was the start of a new day when she was around. He hoped with all his heart she would be all right on her own. She never did get along with the girls at school. Who knew what could happen without his protection? She could barely protect herself. Deep down he knew she would fine. She may look weak, but she had strong, compassionate heart he could never hope to have.

Sasuke shook his head, slapping his cheeks together. No. He couldn't get depressed about this right now. He had comrades who needed help from the Sound shinobi-Naruto in particular. Who knew how long he could hold off Kimimaro until Lee came to his rescue? He could throw himself into the pits of despair later on. He had friends-ones he gained with Katy's help-who needed him right now. While he may have lost one friend, he wasn't going to lose more.

With a slight stronger resolve Sasuke bolted back into the forest in the direction of Kyuubi's chakra flaring wildly around. He never noticed the stare of another watching his back as he disappeared into the greenery.

From atop the head of one of the statues, Seishi sat with an amused smirk. He watched the little girl, Kioshi, converse with whom he identified as Sasuke Uchiha. His single grey eye held a spark of interest when the little Uchiha performed a jutsu for Kioshi to disappear.

_I knew she was interesting,_ he pondered, chuckling. Originally, he was on his way to Konoha when he found the little girl alone in the forest he was going to leave her to the wildlife. What did he care about some brat? But, when he heard her crying it reminded him too much of _her_. If _she_ were here, she would never abandon someone in need. So, he approached the girl with a false name. Then, he found the girl was more than what she appeared as she acted with fierce determination to rescue her friend despite her condition. He would have called her stupid and childish were it not for her obvious loyalty she had for her friend. She would do anything for her friend. She reminded him of himself at that age just as he said. His intrigue only grew when she told him Orochimaru experimented on her and her friend was kidnapped by that lousy snake bastard. It reached its peak the moment her friend was actually Sasuke Uchiha-the very boy he came to see. _Well, well, well. Kioshi is just full of surprises._

He knew of Orochimaru's little experiment. The snake got his hands on the corpse of an Uchiha and used the body's DNA and eyes to create the first successful non-born Uchiha. It was not an overall success as he heard the child was not a shinobi and the eyes were not a full-Sharingan. Yet, it was enough for the child to be labeled as an Uchiha. So, it was lucky for him as he went to Konoha to investigate the rumors of the only other Uchiha survivor being alive that he stumbled onto the little experiment. The little civilian child known as Kioshi. Not only that, she was friends with Sasuke Uchiha. Seeing him inside the coffin confirmed his suspicions. There was another full Uchiha alive. He would have never hit this gold mine of information had he not found Kioshi.

_Kioshi Uchiha...You will be useful to my plans._ Kioshi was an unknown factor he did not know about. He planned on finding out more about her before he could track her down. Whatever the little Uchiha did he was certain he wouldn't find the girl anywhere here again. But, that was okay. He desired the challenge. With the unknown variable known as Kioshi Uchiha he knew he would be able to achieve his goals. _Little Kioshi Uchiha, you will become my future pawn in my plans with or without your consent._

With a smirk he stood back up to his feet in one swift motion. Reaching into his weapon pouch, he took out a bright orange and swirled mask with only one eye hole on the right. He slipped the mask on and swiftly was sucked into a swirling space until nothing was left.

Tobi would meet Kioshi again someday. No, if he had anything to say about it, he would most definitely meet her again.

* * *

**Okay, sorry this chapter came up late. I would have finished this last week but life literally got in the way. Not only did I have to deal with Finals, I had to deal with a grieving mother because our dog, whom my mom loved dearly like her own child, suddenly died last week. She was our first dog and she suddenly died the night before when we found her. It was like a punch in the gut when she died and it wasn't a fun time. I can't even think of Pokemon anymore without feeling terrible (we named her after a Pokemon who she actually somewhat resembled. Go figure). So, I had to deal with my mom crying on top of studying for my final the next day that was largely fact based. Yeah, not fun.  
**

**Anyway, this is the second to last chapter of this story. Yay! I'm almost done with this! Finally! There was a lot that happened in this chapter. I absolutely hated writing most of Sasuke's point-of-view because he was stuck in a freakin' coffin. I hated writing 'this happened' and 'that happened' without Sasuke actually experiencing it. And now that the story's almost done, here's a question for you readers. I'm debating on whether to do a Shippuden sequel for this story. I'm really not sure because I kind of want to but it would largely involve the Akatsuki. I can't say more than that without ruining what I might have planned. So, should I write it? Please tell me what you want!  
**

**Please review!**


	38. Where We Belong

Chapter 38

Sasuke watched as Sakura and Naruto were saying their goodbyes to Haku. Team 7, Tsunade, Shizune, and Haku stood at the open gates of the village. Haku had a backpack on his back as he stood next to a girl with snow white hair and the Kirigakure hitai-ate tied around her forehead. Sasuke frowned at obvious distress and melancholy of the event.

Several weeks have passed since Sasuke sent Katy home and the Retrieval mission. The mission was an overall success since Sasuke was brought back to the village, yet it didn't feel as a time for celebration. Many of the retrieval team was injured, including Sasuke himself. While he fought Kimimaro alongside Naruto, Lee, and Gaara (none of them could take down the guy on their own. There was a reason why Orochimaru wanted him as a host), Sasuke sustained several fractures to his ribs, leg, and his right arm. His right arm got the most damage when Kimimaro riddled the bone with holes from that bullet attack of his. It was to their luck Kimimaro died in the middle of his final attack that could have been the killing blow to all four. Lucky for Sasuke, Chouji, and Neji, Tsunade and Shizune managed to heal them so they could continue their service as shinobi without any permanent repercussions. In the midst of all this no one realized Katy was gone until they were all fully out of the hospital.

Naruto and Haku were shocked when they realized Katy was gone. Sakura was the one to tell them Katy wasn't seen since they left. After their shock, Naruto wanted to go look for her because she was their friend. Everyone had grown close to the girl in their own way. But, Sasuke was the one to tell them to not look for her and leave it. Everyone was astonished he would say that and questioned why. They all knew how close he and Katy were. Sasuke never answered. He was still suffering from being separated for her and saying goodbye. Since he never answered, Naruto got angry at him for not caring enough for his friend. If it weren't for Haku telling him to stop it, Sasuke and Naruto would have fought and in his condition Sasuke wouldn't win. Even now, Naruto held a grudge against him for not caring.

Then, several weeks after they realized Katy had disappeared, Team 7 was called in to Tsunade's office after a mission. Tsunade told Haku the message the new Mizukage sent to her stating she knew Haku was alive. This scared Haku since he thought he would be killed for aiding Zabuza in his assassination attempt on the Fourth Mizukage. Tsunade calmed him down by explaining that the Mizukage was requesting if he could come back and be a shinobi of Kiri instead. The Fifth Mizukage didn't care about Haku's past crimes nor his kekkei genkai. She understood he did all of that for Zabuza for the well-being of the village.

This shocked the genin, especially Haku. He did not know what to do and asked his team for their opinion. Kakashi and Sakura told him he could go if he wanted. Naruto said no because Haku was already a shinobi of Konoha. Sasuke simply replied, "You were born and raised in the Land of Water. You risked your life to help Zabuza achieve his dream of restoring the way of life there. If it means that much to you, it's your choice." That helped Haku decide to go back home to the village he and Zabuza fought to help out from under the former Mizukage. The letter that Tsunade received from the Fifth Mizukage said that following the letter a shinobi from Kiri would come to get Haku's answer.

Not a day later, the Kiri shinobi came. It turned out to be a girl about their age with snow white hair and dark eyes. She introduced herself as Yue Izushi and she was a chunin of Kiri assigned to receive Haku's answer. The four were surprised to see a girl their age could already be a chunin for some time. Sasuke could tell Yue possibly liked Haku because the moment he walked through the door, her pale features turned red. She hid it well, though, and asked for Haku's answer. He said yes. She smiled and said they could leave in three days since she had to retrieve all of Haku's transfer papers. She quickly retrieved those papers in three days' time and it was finally time to go.

Sakura hugged Haku tightly. "We're really going to miss you, Haku. It feels like you haven't been here for awhile."

"I know, Sakura. I'll miss you guys, too," said Haku.

She let go of him and smiled. "Make sure to visit us whenever you get a mission near Konoha."

"Yeah! You better visit," Naruto chirped excitedly. "It feels like you just got here."

Haku nodded. "I'll make sure to visit whenever I can." He turned to Tsunade and bowed. "Thank you for everything, Lady Tsunade."

She waved her hand in dismissal. "It was nothing, kid. Just take care of yourself, got it?"

"I will." Then, Haku turned to Sasuke and bowed to him with much respect. "Thank you for everything, Sasuke. You've done so much for me. I don't know how to repay you."

Sasuke barely blinked and shook his head. "Don't thank me. Thank Katy. She's the one who offered you a home in the first place."

Haku's smile slipped at the name. Sasuke cursed himself for mentioning her. Ever since they discovered Katy disappeared, Haku couldn't hear her name without feeling depressed. He confessed to Sasuke about confessing his feelings for Katy and he felt it was his fault she left. If he hadn't told her he loved her, she wouldn't have left to get away from him. Sasuke pitied him and said Katy didn't leave because of that. She left because of something else. Haku didn't feel as better as he should have.

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his neck with his good hand. "Hey, Haku. I'm sorry about what happened between you and Katy. She just didn't know and didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"No, it's fine, Sasuke," he replied, shaking his head. "I didn't know that she didn't see it either. I'm glad to have met her in the first place. Were it not for her I could have died that day on the bridge and given up on my life."

_Isn't that the truth?_ Sasuke thought. If Katy had never met Haku before the bridge, he would have been dead. And without Haku, Sasuke would have received the curse mark and and Kiba and Akamaru would have been badly hurt during their fight with Sakon and Ukon.

Haku said his final goodbyes to the group. He started to walk beside Yue as they walked away from the village. Sakura and Naruto waved farewell from afar until the two were far out of sight.

"I hope Haku will be okay," said Sakura, worried.

"Don't worry. He will be fine," Sasuke reassured her.

Sakura didn't know if he was right, but nodded.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Now that that's over, it's time to start your training, Sakura."

She nodded fiercely, a determined fire burning in her eyes.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

Sasuke stared between Sakura's enthusiastic expression and Tsunade. Just two weeks ago Sakura asked Tsunade to train her to become a media nin. Sakura told him she wanted to be more useful and after seeing Katy suffer under Sepsis she didn't want to see any of her friends look that way again. The only way to do that was to go into the medical field. Naruto, Sasuke, and Haku encouraged her decision. If she was dedicated, she would become a great medic nin, which Sasuke already knew she would.

Tsunade and Shizune began to leave to go back to their duties. Sakura quickly waved goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Bye, Naruto, Sasuke! I'll see you guys for dinner at your place!"

"Bye, Sakura! Have fun!" Naruto said with a grin. "We're having ramen tonight!"

"Hell no. We're having fried fish and dumplings for dinner," Sasuke shot back.

"What's wrong with ramen?"

"Ramen is unhealthy and I'll be damned if we have ramen for dinner for more than two nights a week."

"You're such a prude, jerk."

"I'm a healthy prude, moron."

Sakura rolled her eyes at their interactions. "I don't know how Katy would have managed to live with you two. You'd probably fight every single night."

Sasuke and Naruto shot a glance at one another with a slight glare. They started living with one another a week before. When Sasuke realized he would be living home alone soon he asked Naruto to come live with him. Everyone was bewildered at Sasuke's offer. Sasuke didn't care about what anyone else thought because he didn't want to live alone. After years of living with at least someone, the thought of living alone terrified him. Underneath his tough exterior, he was a thirteen year old child. He was ready for some independence, but he wanted someone to rely on to take care of him. Katy used to be that person. Now, Sasuke wouldn't have minded to have Naruto around to take care of him. Or rather, he would be the one to take care of Naruto.

Naruto, after some shock, suspicion, and consideration, took his offer and moved into the Uchiha home. Of course, things were more hectic in the home with more arguments and some fights, but their rivalry toned down to one of fierce loyalty to one another. They didn't hate one another as much as before.

After bidding goodbye, Sakura ran off to catch up with her new teacher and fellow student. That left Naruto and Sasuke alone. They decided to head towards their usual training ground to go spar.

"I can't believe Haku left. I had fun being able to live with you and him," Naruto said with a sigh.

"We're going to see him again. If he didn't like us, he would have left months ago," Sasuke commented with a slight shrug.

"Yeah, but it feels like everyone's leaving. Katy's gone, Haku went back to his village, and as soon as Ero Sennin comes back I'm leaving for training. We're going to be leaving you alone."

Sasuke didn't answer. He knew he would soon be alone. Everyone seemed to be leaving his house and leaving him there with his memories of them. To say the least it was depressing.

"I wouldn't mind getting you out of the house. You're terrible at cleaning," he said instead.

"Hey! It's not my fault you're so pissy about keeping everything clean! It's going to get messed up anyway so why bother cleaning?"

"Katy thought the same way, but she still did it."

"Because you probably threatened her!" Naruto huffed, but suddenly frowned. "Do you ever miss Katy?"

Sasuke really didn't want to answer that question. He didn't want Naruto to know he missed Katy more than anything. She was the closest thing he had to a sister. It hurt him to send her away but he had to. It was for the best. He sighed. "I sort of miss her. But, I know she's fine wherever she is. She might not be happy, but at least I know she's safe."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How would you know?"

Sasuke gave a smirk that held many different meanings.

"I just do."

_Though, I wonder what she's doing right now? She's probably playing video games or something At least she'll be happy with _that_ for a while._

Whatever Katy was doing Sasuke would know she would be happy to be home where she belonged. He was.

* * *

xxx

* * *

"Katy...Katy...Kaitlyn Rivera, are you paying attention?!"

"Hm?" Katy lifted her head up from where she was staring at the dull brown desk in front of her to the front of the classroom. A forty year old woman with graying hair stood in front of a white board. She blinked slowly, which made the woman scowl. "Sorry, Ms. Morgan. What was your question?"

"I said if a clothing store had a shirt that cost twenty dollars and they had it on sale for seventeen dollars, what is the percent that was decreased from the sale?"

"Fifteen percent. Is that it?" she impatiently asked.

Ms. Morgan shot her a look that would have made any kid sweat or be uncomfortable. "That would be it for now, Kaitlyn. Now, pay attention!"

She turned back to the board and began to explain how Katy got that answer. Katy tuned her out and started doodling on the notebook on her desk. Despite her not looking, the kids around her began to whisper about her.

"Can you believe her attitude?'

"I know. Rude, much?"

"Just because she got herself kidnapped doesn't mean she can be so bitchy."

"Totally."

"What a loser."

"I bet the kidnapper offered her a bunch of those comic books she's always reading and she went with him."

They laughed and giggled before they were shushed by a stern look from their teacher.

_This is complete torture! How can I compare myself to those girls?_ Katy grumbled in her head. She gripped her normal, mechanical pencil so hard it almost snapped. Her vision almost turned red. _First summer's taken away from me and now this? This sucks! More than that stupid Sepsis!_

Several weeks have passed since she came home from what she dubbed the Shinobi reality. She awakened in a hospital with her mother beside her with tears in her eyes. Her mother broke into tears of joy. Apparently, she found Katy lying on the doorstep as pale as a ghost and barely breathing. Calling an ambulance, she was taken to the hospital where she was put into Intensive care for her newly diagnosed Sepsis. After awakening, her mother demanded where she went. Katy was in no mood to lie after everything that happened, so she told her everything. From the shinobi to Sasuke to her experimentation, she told it all. Of course, her mother was distraught with the experimentation but told her no matter what happened to her she was always her daughter. This caused Katy to break into her own tears. Her mother believed every single word and still loved her no matter how ridiculous it sounded. That, and it didn't hurt with Sasuke's own evidence.

While Katy was still knocked out, Mari, Sasuke's mother, went through the manga she found they had with them to find a letter addressed to her. Katy read the letter herself and remembered every single word to this moment.

_Dear Mom,_ it read,

_It's been nearly a year since I've disappeared from Sacramento. I'm sorry for suddenly disappearing like that with Katy. It was unexpected. I hope we didn't worry you and Aunt Rosaline too much. I wish I could see you but I can't. Don't worry. I'm okay. I haven't been kidnapped or anything. I'm back home. My birth home._

_Mom, I know this is unbelieveable, but you know that manga series I read all the time? _Naruto?_ And you know that character who looked like me? Well, it turns out I'm actually that character. I found out here that my real name is Sasuke Uchiha and I have a family. Well, _had._ All of them are dead now except for my older brother, Itachi. Anyway, it turns that I came from a ninja clan and I trained how to be one as well. My life is better now. I've made new friends now that I know where I came from. But, I've never forgotten you. Never. I wish every time that I could see you again but I can't. Only Katy can. _

_I decided to send her home because this place is too dangerous. She's been put in more danger than the people on crime shows. She won't last any longer here. If she stays here, she'll die. Mom, if Katy explains where I am and where she's been (I have a feeling she will), please believe her. She's been through so much as I have. I can handle it. She can't._

_I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you all of this myself, but I have to stay here. I just want to thank you for everything. For taking care of me, loving me, and treating me like I was your own. I know you love me and you'll be grieving for me but don't. I want you to be happy. Go get married and have the family you've always wanted. All I ask from you is to not forget me._

_Thank you for being my mother._

_Love,_

_Sasuke Hailton-Uchiha_

Mari believed every single word because Sasuke asked her to. Because of that, she believed where she's been. That made Katy all the more grateful for Sasuke.

Katy's severe sepsis kept her in the hospital for several weeks, which was complete torture. A week after she was checked in, a police officer arrived to ask Katy about what happened about her disappearance. Her mother had to file a missing person's report when discovering she was missing. Rosaline, Mari and Katy knew they couldn't tell the truth (that would put Katy in an asylum), so Katy had to lie she was kidnapped by a man in a black coat after they played hooky from school. Katy was carried down a street where Sasuke went after them to try and rescue Katy, but he ended up getting taken as well. The man kept them in a white van and drove them somewhere. When they arrived at the place the man knocked them both out so they couldn't see where they were. He threw them in a basement of some sort where they stayed for nearly a year. She grew teary eyes and said the man tortured her and Sasuke for a long time.

After nearly a year, Sasuke had enough. When the man came down to torture them again Sasuke used a metal rod he found to knock the man out in the head. Then, they escaped from the basement to see they were in an abandoned office building. Sasuke told Katy to get back home while he would lead the man off her trail should he wake up. She was hesitant to agree but she did. The two parted ways and Katy ran back to her home where she passed out from her contracted Sepsis. She also told the officer she did not know who the man was, where the office building was located, or where Sasuke went. The officer asked her if she could remember anything significant. She sobbed a no for good measure and he backed off after that.

Weeks later, Katy was released from the hospital after being deemed healthy enough only to find out her story was in the local newspaper. She had no idea how people found out and neither did her mother, but the damage was done. Everyone in their neighborhood knew and gave her pity gifts of all kinds. They did the same thing with Mari, whose son was still missing.

Speaking of Mari, she learned something interesting had happened while Katy and Sasuke were gone. She had a filipino boyfriend by the name of Juan dela Cruz. Apparently, a month after she and Sasuke were reported missing, her mother Mari along to one of her co-worker's party since Mari was sad and lonely. At the party they met with a close co-worker of her mother's. He and Mari instantly hit it off. Juan supported Mari through her struggles of depression and comforted her to the best of her ability. Katy actually met Juan when she was ten and was shocked to find out he was dating Mari. She couldn't believe it. She soon accepted it when she saw how happy Mari was and how Juan didn't grope Mari like most guys normally would. She knew Sasuke would approve of this guy if he saw that.

Then, the horrible news arrive. After getting released, her mother told her should would be taking summer school. Summer school! Because Katy missed almost the whole school year, she either had to repeat seventh grade again or take summer school and private tutoring to get to eighth grade. There was no _way_ she was repeating a grade. So, she was stuck in a classroom for the whole summer.

Which _sucked._

Katy stopped doodling and stared out the window beside her. It was a beautiful day with marshmallow skies and cool weather. She scowled. She should be out there playing, not stuck in a room with a bunch of kids who didn't care about their education. This was so unfair. She didn't want to be here. She would rather be in Konoha again. There was no way she could do that. She could never go back unless she wanted to die.

_I'd rather take death by Sepsis than death by insanity._

She was seriously considering committing suicide because of all the hatred from everyone towards her. These kids didn't exactly like her for her sob story and thought she made it up to make herself popular. She sighed heavily. _I wish I could have said goodbye. But, I guess it was for the best._

Katy was already missing everyone in Konoha. They were her true friends, not the people here. Her friends understood her; yet, these people did not. She wished she could see them again someday. Until then, she had her memories.

_I'll never forget them,_ Katy thought with a smile. All the good times she had in Konoha would never fade away. She would always remember them. _No matter what,_ _I won't forget them. Never._

Her memories of Konoha was kept in a special place in her heart. Unlike Sasuke, she would always remember. Time could never take away her precious memories. Now that she was back home it was time to create more.

* * *

**And, that's all folks!**

**Thank God! I'm finally done with this story! I felt like updating this two days after since I had this chapter sitting in my notebook. I feel so much better I finished this story four years after I started it in high school. This story got me through what I was dealing with at the time and I felt better when I wrote it. So, thank you for all of the readers who read this and reviewed. And, I decided to do a sequel. So, stay tuned for a new story!**

**Thank you and please continue reviewing!**


	39. Author's Note

She stared down at the various pieces of paper surrounding her with much frustration Sitting on the floor of a simple stage inside a theater with but a darkened cave as the backdrop, she couldn't help but curse at the paper around her. A few pages in front of her were written with what looked to be a chapter to a story. On one of the papers was the title, _Remembering what was Forgotten Sequel._ But, the other surrounding paper were blank. Seeing the blank pieces of paper infuriated her to no end.

From stage left, two young teens walked out onto the stage. One was a young boy with dark hair and eyes while the other was a young girl with black hair and red-brown eyes. The girl was chattering incessantly to the boy about something along the lines of 'ramen' when they both stopped upon seeing the girl. The girl looked uncertainly between the older girl and her companion. The boy frowned and shrugged. Hesitantly, the girl spoke up.

"Um, Twilit Angel? What are you doing out here? It's kind of late to be plotting, isn't it?" she asked.

"For the love of God!" she finally cried out. She threw her hands up in the air. "Why is this so hard? I can't come up with a good plot for the sequel!"

"Of course. I knew she'd run into trouble with the plotting," the boy drawled with a roll of his eyes.

"Sasuke, what's she talking about?" the girl asked, curiously.

"You know how she's writing a sequel to our story in the Shippuden era?" The girl nodded. "Apparently, while she was still writing the first story, she went ahead and started the first chapter and a scene for the second story. She already went ahead and wrote down the first chapter, but she doesn't have an idea what to do with the rest of the story."

"What do you mean? I thought she was following the plot of Shippuden?"

"No. Because of what happened in the first story, she altered me going to Orochimaru and since I have no desire to kill Itachi, most of the canon story is gone. She can't write anything except a couple scenes. She doesn't have an idea on what to do."

"But, she told me she was going to involve the Akatsuki!"

"I _am!_ But, I'm at a loss on how to freakin' characterize them or how to get any scenes with them right!" Twilit Angel yelled with a small whine at the end. She curled up into herself in a sulk. "I've read a bunch of Akatsuki stories to get this straight, but I don't feel like any of them would act like that!"

"Act like what?" the boy, Sasuke, asked.

"For one thing, I know as sure as _hell_ Tobi doesn't go around talking in third person and screaming, 'Tobi is a good boy!'"

"Nope! I don't talk like that at all!"

The three jumped at the sudden voice. Whipping their heads to the backdrop, they saw Tobi standing there. He was rolling on the balls of his feet with a happy aura around him. He skipped over to where Twilit Angel was. He pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay, Twi-chan. I know this is really tough for you. But, you've gotta hang in there! I know you can do it! You already know how I'm like and people like Zetsu-san and Deidara-senpai act," he reassured her.

Twilit Angel squirmed from under his hold. She wasn't comfortable being around this masked freak knowing who he was. Though, she would never tell him she knew. "Well, I know Hidan does cuss like a sailor."

"Fuck you, Kakuzu!" Hidan's voice echoed from backstage. "I don't give a fuck about your damn money! Don't interrupt my sacrificial ritual with that lousy shit!"

"See what I mean?" she said to a startled Katy and Sasuke. "I know how everyone else is, but I can't think of chapters to get you two fully involved with them. I don't know how they would react to Sasuke besides Deidara, Kisame, and Itachi."

"Wait, wait, wait. How are you involving us with them? And why do I get the feeling you're screwing us over _yet again?_" Sasuke demanded. A small pit of dread formed in his belly.

"Because I am?" Twilit Angel grinned impishly at them. "I can't tell you the full details without ruining anything."

"Oh-kay. If you're having a problem, then what are you going to do?" Katy asked, uncertainly.

"Well, I kind of want one of my fans/followers of my stories to help me write out chapters. Because I'm running out of ideas here. But, I'm not sure how to go about asking them."

"Oh! Oh! I have an idea!" Tobi said. He suddenly let go to Twilit Angel to spring up to his feet. He turned to the empty audience and waved wildly. "Hi, there, Twi-chan's reviewers! We'd really like someone to come help Twi-chan with the sequel because she's really bad at this!"

"Tobi!"

"I'll love you forever and ever if you do! I'm sure she'll credit you for any of your ideas!"

"And please private message her if you are willing to gift her with ideas or chapters," another voice said. This time, from behind Sasuke and Katy. The two jumped with a squeal from Katy. Looking over their shoulder, they found Itachi standing there with his arms folded. He tilted his head in a lazy style with piece of his hair falling in front of his face. "She will provide you with what she has already planned if you do so. Because of what the story idea, she will need all the help she can get. For now, all we can say here in this author's note is you can expect many appearances from the Akatsuki."

"What the-Itachi, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"It is getting rowdy backstage. I needed a bit of peace and quiet before Twilit begins writing and posting chapters," he said with a shrug.

"Wait, you know what she's planning?" Katy asked.

Itachi smirked, lifting a finger to his lips.

"You will find out soon."

"Yeah, yeah! Please, help out Twi-chan!" Tobi said with a small laugh at the end. "Oh! But, since we have to wait for them to message Twi-chan, we have lots of time to play!"

"What? No, I have to start writing-"

Twilit Angel was interrupted when Tobi scooped her up from off the ground. He slung her over his shoulder like a human-sized bag of potatoes. She protested.

"Nope! You have time to do that! You've got all summer!" Tobi chirped. "C'mon! I think Deidara-senpai has some clay we can play with. Oh, I know! We can play hide-and-seek with him, too! I'm great at hide-and-seek!"

"No! Tobi! Put me down!" Twilit Angel shrieked. She flailed in the arms of the masked shinobi, but it did no damage as he carried her off stage to head to the waiting rooms where the rest of the Akatsuki were. "Tobi!"

"I suppose I should go prepare for what's to come," Itachi sighed. He followed after them without so much as a goodbye to his younger brother and his friend.

Katy and Sasuke soon found themselves standing on alone. They traded a look of dread and fear.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Katy admitted to Sasuke.

"I do, too," Sasuke agreed. He had a feeling he wouldn't like where the new story was going. For all he knew Twilit Angel was going to torture him again as was her habit.

The two were left in silence as the lights on the stage dimmed to go prepare for the new story to be told.

**As it says! Please, help me!**


End file.
